The lithium battery industry is an emerging industry of new energy and new materials. Countries around the world have paid great attention to it, and power lithium batteries have attracted more attention. According to the status of lithium battery production and its application, the lithium battery industry chain can be roughly divided into the following four parts.
(I) Upstream industries - the scarcity of resources The lithium-ion upstream industries are mainly natural mineral resources, including cobalt, nickel, manganese, phosphorus, iron, lithium and various compounds, of which cobalt and lithium are the most abundant, but they are in nature. Reserves are limited and are scarce resources.
(II) Material links in the midstream industry – The second link of the core lithium battery industry chain for R&D of new products belongs to the core link in the lithium industry and determines the key to lithium battery technology advancement. It consists of a positive electrode material, a separator, an electrolyte, a conductive agent, a binder, a conductive agent, a lug, an aluminum-plastic composite film, and the like. Among them, the cathode material is the largest in the market and the added value is high, accounting for about 30% of the cost of the lithium battery. The cathode materials currently used in batches of lithium batteries include lithium cobaltate, lithium manganate, lithium nickelate, and cobalt. Lithium nickel manganese oxide and lithium iron phosphate.
Lithium cobalt oxide was first commercialized and its technology has matured so far, and is widely used in small, low-power portable electronic products such as mobile phones, notebook computers, and digital electronic products.
Lithium nickelate and lithium manganate can only be used as transitional materials due to their inherent defects such as low capacity, poor cycle performance, and safety hazards. They are used in power batteries for a short period of time and must be replaced by lithium iron phosphate for a long time.
Cobalt-nickel-manganese oxide is also a ternary material. It combines the advantages of lithium cobalt oxide and lithium manganate and has applications in both small low-power batteries and high-power batteries.
Lithium iron phosphate material is currently the most optimistic about the industry, but it is currently a minimum amount of a cathode material, in 2008 the global supply of about 1,500 tons.
The high-value-added material with the highest technical barrier in the lithium-based material of the diaphragm is usually more than 70%, accounting for 20-30% of the cost of the lithium battery. However, only a handful of companies have the ability to produce diaphragms in China, which has led to restrictions on foreign imports. The high price is a major reason for the high cost of lithium batteries, and it is also one of the important reasons that affect lithium battery applications. From this point of view, the development of the diaphragm is of great significance to the promotion of China's lithium power industry, but from the investment point of view, the diaphragm has a typical "high-tech, high-capital" characteristics, and the project has a long cycle from start-up to production, and investment risks are high. To a certain extent, it hindered domestic companies from investing in this important area.
Electrolyte is another important material that affects the performance of lithium battery, accounting for about 12% of lithium battery cost, and the gross profit rate is close to 40%. At present, domestic battery manufacturers have basically achieved localization of electrolyte support, and only a small part use imported electrolyte. Electrolyte is still a sunrise industry in the next 3-5 years.
Negative electrode materials, binders, conductive agents, lugs, and aluminum-plastic composite films account for a relatively low percentage of lithium-ion cost, and anode materials have been industrialized in China.
(III) Scaled manufacturing process in the middle reaches of the industry: The core link in the lithium battery industry chain that promotes brand strategy is battery manufacturing and PACK assembly. Relatively speaking, it is a labor-intensive large-scale manufacturing industry. There are many companies involved in this field at home and abroad. In particular, large enterprises have obvious competitive advantages, and it is difficult to shake up the status of the industry. Among them, there are many well-known transnational giants such as Sony, Sanyo, Samsung, and LG Chemicals; domestic companies with large scales in recent years are also growing, and the overall industry is now mainly distributed. In Japan, South Korea, China and Taiwan. The common characteristics of midstream manufacturers are strong capital strength, high brand awareness, mature technology, and the ability to produce various lithium batteries. In addition to traditional lithium cobalt oxide batteries, they can also produce new lithium iron phosphate batteries.
The first batch of companies took part in the national lithium battery business in China. The company has a 10-year history in the field of lithium battery manufacturing. It is a company that integrates R&D, production, sales and application solutions for lithium ion secondary batteries. A professional provider of energy-efficient mobile power solutions. The company owns two well-known lithium brands, BK (Bonkai) and Encel (Insail), including lithium-ion battery, lithium-ion battery, polymer lithium battery, cylindrical lithium battery and lithium iron phosphate battery. Forefront of manufacturers. The company also independently developed a lithium iron phosphate power battery with independent intellectual property rights. Since 2008, it has focused on investing in and expanding high-end application markets in the areas of 3G, solid polymer, and power batteries, focusing on creating a brand that belongs to the "Bankai" brand. The mobile power solution terminal products have so far received rapid market response.
(IV) Downstream industry – landscape The downstream of the lithium industry chain, which refers to the application, includes low-end mobile phones, notebook computers, digital cameras, power tools, miner's lamp markets, mid-range wind power and solar energy storage markets, and high-end markets. Electric bicycles, electric motorcycles, electric scooter, electric wheelchairs, electric cars and electric bus markets. In the field of military space, such as tanks, submarines, rockets, lunar rover, etc., lithium is also very useful.
The electric bicycle market is currently one of the most promising lithium-electricity application markets. Currently, many domestic manufacturers are actively investing in the construction of battery production lines. However, due to the deviation of national industrial policies and consumer policies, there is almost no domestic market in the short term.
The situation of electric wheelchairs, electric motorcycles and other scooter is similar to that of electric bicycles. There is still a period of cultivation in the local market, but the situation in foreign countries is relatively optimistic. This situation is quite similar to that of the solar cell industry. China is the largest manufacturing site, but the market is overseas. Good things are often enjoyed by foreigners.
It is worth mentioning that the power lithium battery has a bright future. Judging from market conditions, nickel-metal hydride batteries have performed well in power automotive applications such as the Toyota Prius, but due to low relative energy and high manufacturing costs, it is no longer a key development direction; fuel cell development has a long history. However, due to the complex system and difficult maintenance, the storage and transportation of hydrogen is a major problem, and it will not be possible for at least five years. In comparison, lithium batteries have to be improved in addition to consistency, as the automotive power battery can not but become the best choice, including Japan, the United States, China, including the automobile giant almost unanimously optimistic about lithium batteries, especially lithium iron phosphate batteries .