Sahin does not mince words when it comes to the trending phrase “cobalt-free” in the nickel-rich cathode ecosystem. For their approach to electrode powder stabilization, CAMX has focused since 2002 on grain boundary engineering, also known as crystallite surface engineering, in polycrystalline high nickel cathode materials such as NCA, NMC, and LNO. Umicore saw a major year for production in 2021 with the opening of their first cathode active material plant outside Asia-a carbon-neutral facility located in Nysa, Poland.ĬAMX has long been developing low-cobalt and high-nickel cathode materials, as detailed by company president and founder Kenan Sahin. Customization of cathode particles for solid-state battery applications entails size and shape control and a homogeneous, conformal coating. Umicore is also making cathode materials specifically tailored for use in solid-state batteries, which have their own specific requirements due to the solid-solid cathode-electrolyte interfaces. Both single-crystal and polycrystalline particle morphologies, and combinations thereof, are being explored. On the horizon are manganese-rich electrodes with nearly zero cobalt, high-voltage spinels, and nickel- and cobalt-free cathodes. Rohan Gokhale of Umicore presented their cathode roadmap showing that materials with more than 80% nickel or nearly zero cobalt are already in the qualification and industrialization stage. Umicore, which produced enough cathode material in 2021 to power one million electric vehicles, is developing new materials for the advanced cathode sector. In either case, metals like cobalt are projected to be phased out in favor of less costly, more widely available metals such as nickel and, ideally, iron and manganese. In an alternative scenario, BloombergNEF sees the potential for a more progressive chemistry mix, in which case they predict market domination by roughly equal proportions of lithium nickel phosphate (LNP, LiNiPO 4), iron trifluoride (FeF 3), and LFP in the next 20 to 30 years. The BloombergNEF base outlook also foresees a relatively constant fraction of approximately 20% LFP, a shrinking and almost vanishing contribution from LCO, and the arrival and substantial market penetration of some new contenders such as high-voltage lithium nickel manganese oxide (LNMO, LiNi 0.5Mn 1.5O 4) and lithium-rich NMC materials. It is worth noting that nickel-rich materials are converging toward a nickel content at which the varied nomenclature starts to lose significance once nickel constitutes 95–98%, it may be simplest to consider all these phases as substituted LNO with substituent elements present on the order of 1% or less. According to BloombergNEF data, the cathode material mix in 2020 (across all sectors) was 46% lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxide (NMC, Li(Ni,Mn,Co)O 2), 19% lithium cobalt oxide (LCO, LiCoO 2), 18% lithium iron phosphate (LFP, LiFePO 4), 16% lithium nickel cobalt aluminum oxide (NCA, Li(Ni,Co,Al)O 2), and 1% lithium manganese oxide (LMO, LiMn 2O 4).Īs we look toward 2030 and even 2040, BloombergNEF’s base projections show a sustained, dominant role for nickel-rich cathodes such as NMC, NCA, and variations such as lithium nickel manganese cobalt aluminum oxide (NMCA, Li(Ni,Mn,Co,Al)O 2) and lithium nickel oxide (LNO, LiNiO 2). To set the stage, James Frith, BloombergNEF, opened the meeting with an overview of the Implications of Economy-Wide Decarbonization and a survey of the cathode landscape. Janu| Battery engineers, scientists, investors, entrepreneurs, professors, analysts, consultants, CEOs, CTOs, CIOs, COOs, patent attorneys, business development managers, and sales managers gathered in San Diego-or joined online-for the Advanced Automotive Battery Conference in December 2021.Īs the most expensive component of a lithium-ion battery, cathode materials are ripe for innovation.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |