Lithium iron phosphate with nickel and cobalt can bridge the battery gap

Lithium iron phosphate is becoming more popular as the go-to material for EV batteries as the car industry struggles to create more economical electric vehicles, whose batteries are their most expensive component. Concerns about the environment and international politics have contributed to the popularity of the chemical molecule known as LFP. Technology advancements have, however, also helped to close the performance gap with more widely used materials like nickel and cobalt. LFP, which was adopted by the leading EV company Tesla two years ago, has spurred renewed interest, particularly in the United States, where a number of local and foreign manufacturers have committed more than $14 billion in new manufacturing facilities.

Two of the biggest automakers in the world, Toyota Motor and Hyundai Motor, have revealed intentions to equip their following vehicles with LFP batteries this week, but they have yet to mention any plans for the United States. A 2019 Nobel laureate for his work on lithium-ion batteries, Stanley Whittingham is a professor at Binghamton University in New York. “LFP is less expensive than cobalt and nickel, and all the minerals can be found in North America, which means significantly lower transportation costs and a more secure supply chain,” he said.

Lithium iron phosphate cells can now store more energy than before thanks to the inclusion of manganese, a key component in competing nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) battery cells, giving EVs a longer range of up to 450 miles (724 km) on a single charge, according to current Toyota claims. Our Next Energy, a Michigan-based company building a $1.6 billion battery production facility in Van Buren Township, supports LFP because "the materials are more readily available and sustainable, with a much lower risk" of fire, said founder and CEO Mujeeb Ijaz. We've also shown that you can match the range of cobalt cells without sacrificing anything, he added.

In order to provide EVs at cheaper prices in regions outside of China, Tesla is one of the manufacturers leading the charge. Tesla is aiming for a basic price of about $25,000. According to experts, using LFP batteries should aid Tesla and its competitors in achieving this aim. Ford Motor plans to build a $3.5 billion LFP cell production facility in western Michigan using CATL, the largest EV battery manufacturer in China, which has licenced technology to Ford. According to Ford CEO Jim Farley, the objective is to reduce the automaker's cell prices from more than $100/kWh for existing NCM cells to less than $70/kWh.

According to battery specialist Shirley Meng, a professor at the University of Chicago and the director of Argonne National Laboratory's Collaborative Centre for Energy Storage Science, more than 90% of LFP materials and components still originate in China.

Tesla and Hyundai are among the EV producers who have adopted LFP at a quick rate, indicating that they "are not ready to decouple from China," according to Meng.