LG Energy (LG Energy Solution) began developing lithium iron phosphate battery technology at the Daejeon Laboratory in South Korea at the end of last year, and a pilot line is expected to be built as soon as next year, according to South Korean media THE ELEC. The battery is a soft bag battery, which is different from the prismatic and cylindrical batteries produced by Chinese enterprises.
LG Chemistry will also be involved in LG Energy's lithium iron phosphate battery business. South Korean media predict that LG Chemical may set up a joint venture with its Chinese partner to supply LG Energy with the raw materials needed to produce lithium iron phosphate batteries.
LG Energy, a wholly owned subsidiary of LG Chemical, formerly known as the battery business department of LG Chemical, was spun off on December 1, 2020. in terms of the installed capacity of power batteries in June in China, LG Energy is the third stable. By the end of 2020, LG New Energy has four global production bases, located in Cangwu, South Korea, Holland of the United States, Nanjing, China, and Poland, with production capacity of 18.2GWh, 2.6GWh, 35GWh and 15GWh respectively.
Prior to this, LG Energy specializes in ternary batteries, and its core partners are Tesla and European luxury car brands such as Porsche, BMW and Audi. According to THE ELEC, due to the lack of battery life of lithium iron phosphate batteries, the company has long disapproved of the technology route, believing that it is not suitable for the high-end car market.
But now top electric car companies, including Tesla, have shifted their focus to the lithium iron phosphate line, forcing LG Energy to make a shift. Tesla intends to replace all standard battery life models with lithium iron phosphate batteries. In order to further reduce the cost of energy storage products, Tesla recently converted its star energy storage product Megapack to lithium iron phosphate batteries. It is worth noting that European car companies seem to be ready to "taste" lithium iron phosphate batteries after discovering the performance advantages of lithium iron phosphate batteries. February 18 Renault CEO Luca de Mayo told foreign media that the company's all-electric Renault 5 plans to be mass produced in 2023 and will consider using lithium iron phosphate batteries.
South Korean media reports also mentioned that LG Chemical will cooperate with Chinese companies to produce upstream raw materials for lithium iron phosphate batteries. Among the domestic lithium battery upstream materials companies, Ganfeng Lithium Industry sells lithium hydroxide products to LG Chemical, and the order is valid until December 31, 2022. LG Chemical's anode suppliers include Bertre (China Baoan subsidiary) and Shanshan; diaphragm suppliers include Enjie, Xingyuan Materials, Jiangsu Cathay; and in terms of electrolytes, Divine Nine days has signed a two-year contract with LG Chemical, and LG Chemical has taken a stake in New Zeus's Polish subsidiary.
In addition, among the domestic enterprises deeply involved in the layout of upstream lithium iron phosphate materials, German Nano is the leader of lithium iron phosphate cathode materials; Hunan Yacheng, a subsidiary of Hezhong Technology, mainly produces positive precursors of lithium iron phosphate batteries; battery suppliers BYD and Ningde Times have bound Hunan Yuneng, a leading enterprise of lithium iron phosphate materials. Guoxuan Hi-Tech is the head enterprise of lithium iron phosphate battery. At present, its iron lithium material is mainly self-supplied. Longchuan technology, Chuanfa dragon python, Longbai Group, Xin Yangfeng, and other chemical enterprises are also continuing to strengthen the lithium iron phosphate industry chain.
