Four major technical problems of lithium batteries restrict the development of electric vehicles

At present, because the manufacturing cost of electric vehicles is too high, the state is providing high subsidies for electric vehicles. The main reason for the high cost of electric vehicles is the high cost of lithium batteries, which cost more than one-third of the entire vehicle. However, the reason for the high cost of lithium batteries is also closely related to the chemical materials involved.

1. Cathode material

The positive electrode materials of lithium batteries mainly include lithium cobalt oxide, lithium manganate, nickel manganese cobalt ternary materials, and lithium iron phosphate. Among them, lithium iron phosphate is regarded as an ideal positive electrode material by the industry because of its potential advantages in cycle life, safety, and material cost that other materials do not have. At present, the first problem is that the main raw material of electronic grade lithium carbonate (lithium carbonate content above 99.5%) is mostly imported, and second, the production technology of lithium iron phosphate also comes from abroad.

It is understood that lithium carbonate can be extracted from lithium ore or salt lake and purified. China's lithium resources rank second in the world, but due to technical problems, the output of domestic ore extracted lithium carbonate and then purified into electronic pole lithium carbonate is very low. There are no products available for the extraction of electronic grade lithium carbonate from the Salt Lake. Therefore, only large quantities of electronic grade lithium carbonate can be imported from abroad. Because of the large amount of imports, domestic enterprises have basically no pricing power, and it is entirely up to foreign manufacturers to decide.

In terms of technology, the development of lithium iron phosphate in China has been basically synchronized with that of the world, but no real leading enterprise has been born in China, and the industry lacks original innovative technologies. At present, there are mainly three leading companies in the lithium iron phosphate battery industry in the world. They are A123 and Valence in the United States and Phostech in Canada. Lithium iron phosphate technology is regarded as a strategic technology abroad, and the governments of the United States, Canada and other countries will not hesitate to participate in the establishment of technical barriers with the power of the country.

In the field of lithium iron phosphate materials, there are two core technology patents, one of which is carbon cladding technology, and the other is carbon thermal reduction technology. The former is exclusively used by Canada's Forsteck Company and has applied for patents in China. The latter's patent right is owned by American Gaobo Company, and has not yet applied for a patent in China, but the company has now established two companies in Suzhou, which are responsible for the production of lithium iron phosphate materials and battery manufacturing. The core patents of lithium iron phosphate batteries are controlled by several foreign companies. The transfer of foreign company patents to Chinese companies will face high patent licensing fees, posing a huge potential threat to the industry.

To get rid of the low-end and passive position in the industry chain, efforts must be made from three aspects: first, through technology research and development to accelerate domestic patent applications for lithium iron phosphate. The second is to arrange the core patents of foreign companies in the periphery. The third is to strengthen the research on battery structure design and battery combination control.