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Mid-Nickel",103.5,99.73,3.78,13.78,6.78,[518,519,520,522,524,526,528,530,532,534,536,538],{"date":213,"value":512},{"date":216,"value":513},{"date":219,"value":521},99.19,{"date":222,"value":523},96.02,{"date":225,"value":525},98.23,{"date":467,"value":527},99.24,{"date":329,"value":529},101.29,{"date":339,"value":531},87.61,{"date":341,"value":533},92.44,{"date":344,"value":535},90.96,{"date":347,"value":537},92.24,{"date":350,"value":539},95.09,{"id":541,"uuid":542,"name":543,"slug":544,"full_slug":545,"content":546,"relatedArticles":698,"relatedVideos":699},112473878228108,"973da3b5-0487-4043-b22a-fd0c3bfd71f7","LFP’s resurgence illustrates the nuances of the electric vehicle supply chain","lfps-resurgence-illustrates-the-nuances-of-the-electric-vehicle-supply-chain","article/lfps-resurgence-illustrates-the-nuances-of-the-electric-vehicle-supply-chain",{"_uid":547,"date":548,"tags":549,"editor":552,"content":562,"excerpt":679,"featured":50,"reporter":680,"_editable":684,"component":685,"seo_title":543,"categories":686,"visibility":690,"author_company":49,"featured_image":691,"seo_description":679,"author_full_name":49,"author_job_title":49,"formattedDate":696,"formattedArticleDate":697},"8aab5006-633c-4030-b007-133e5d93e32f","2020-08-19 00:00",[550],{"slug":551,"name":451},"lfp",[553],{"slug":554,"name":555,"content":556},"didi-bostock","Didi Bostock",{"job_title":557,"image":558,"bio":560,"linkedin":561},"Editor - Energy Transition & Economics",{"filename":559},"https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/512x512/2c5ca5c1a3/didi-bostock.jpeg","Didi is the Energy Transition & Economics Editor at Benchmark, covering a broad range of markets across the energy transition. His remit spans from downstream sectors such as BESS and EVs, through to midstream such as new technologies and battery production, to upstream critical minerals mining. He also leads on financial analysis across these supply chains, alongside in-depth policy analysis.\n","https://www.linkedin.com/in/didi-bostock-656342198/",{"type":563,"content":564},"doc",[565,572,577,582,587,594,599,604,609,614,619,624,629,634,639,644,649,654,659,664,669,674],{"type":566,"attrs":567,"content":568},"paragraph",{"textAlign":49},[569],{"text":570,"type":571},"In 2020 there seems to have been a resurgence of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathodes in the battery supply chain. So, why is this and what are the implications for raw materials?","text",{"type":566,"attrs":573,"content":574},{"textAlign":49},[575],{"text":576,"type":571},"Firstly, we should note that LFP never went away. According to Benchmark’s Cathode Market Assessment, production of LFP cathodes has increased 8.1x between 2013 and 2019. Overall, this level of growth is comparable to that of NCM (nickel, cobalt, manganese) cathode materials, production of which has increased by 9.2x over the same period.",{"type":566,"attrs":578,"content":579},{"textAlign":49},[580],{"text":581,"type":571},"The majority of growth for NCM has come from NCM 622 and 811 chemistries, both of which have a smaller market share than LFP. In fact, last year only NCM 523 production reached the levels of LFP. Between 2013 and 2019 LFP’s share of total cathode material production increased from approximately 13% to 18% in 2019, although it had peaked above 22% in 2016 and 2017.",{"type":566,"attrs":583,"content":584},{"textAlign":49},[585],{"text":586,"type":571},"For the past couple of years LFP may have been overshadowed by increases in current and future NCA and NCM 811 cathode capacity, but in volume terms LFP production has benefited from tailwinds that will be key in the ascendancy of EVs globally: adoption in heavy-duty vehicles and less range-conscious passenger vehicle markets.",{"type":588,"attrs":589,"content":591},"heading",{"level":590,"textAlign":49},4,[592],{"text":593,"type":571},"LFP’s mainstream moment",{"type":566,"attrs":595,"content":596},{"textAlign":49},[597],{"text":598,"type":571},"In addition to these mainstays in demand, the narrative around LFP received a major boost in February when Tesla confirmed that it would be using CATL’s cells LFP cells in its standard range model 3s in the Chinese domestic market. The announcement that Volkswagen was taking a share in Guoxuan/Gotion High Tech at the end of May also boosted prospects with LFP the leading input to Gotion’s production capabilities, with comparably limited NCM capacity.",{"type":566,"attrs":600,"content":601},{"textAlign":49},[602],{"text":603,"type":571},"While pressures to work with domestic suppliers in China may have guided Tesla’s partnership with CATL, the technological improvements to increase energy density have been attributed as the driving factor behind an LFP offering.",{"type":566,"attrs":605,"content":606},{"textAlign":49},[607],{"text":608,"type":571},"Elon Musk noted this in Tesla’s recent earnings call, in which he said “our total vehicle efficiency has gotten good enough with Model 3, for example, that we actually are comfortable having an iron phosphate [LFP] battery pack in Model 3 in China.”",{"type":566,"attrs":610,"content":611},{"textAlign":49},[612],{"text":613,"type":571},"While there have been improvements at the cathode level, wider technological improvements across the battery cell, at the pack and other improvements in the electric vehicle have increased LFP’s overall range, and Musk explained that Tesla could be “getting a range of almost 300 miles with an iron phosphate pack, taking into account a whole bunch of powertrain and other vehicle efficiencies.”",{"type":566,"attrs":615,"content":616},{"textAlign":49},[617],{"text":618,"type":571},"The wider improvements available with LFP, such as the possibility of cell-to-pack technology, has moved the technology closer to the ranges offered by NCM 523 and 622 at the battery pack level.",{"type":566,"attrs":620,"content":621},{"textAlign":49},[622],{"text":623,"type":571},"While technological improvements have made LFP more attractive to Western OEMs operating in China, it is the Chinese domestic market which remains the most appropriate region for LFP technology in passenger electric vehicles.",{"type":566,"attrs":625,"content":626},{"textAlign":49},[627],{"text":628,"type":571},"Chinese consumers are seemingly less range-conscious than their European and Northern American counterparts, which have much more established expectations on how far a passenger vehicle should travel, thus the lower-priced, but also lower-range, passenger EVs using LFP are less likely to put off a Chinese consumer than a Western one. Similarly, LFP will also fit well into other non-Western markets, such as India, with different range expectations and a higher proportion of two-wheelers.",{"type":588,"attrs":630,"content":631},{"level":590,"textAlign":49},[632],{"text":633,"type":571},"LFP in Western markets",{"type":566,"attrs":635,"content":636},{"textAlign":49},[637],{"text":638,"type":571},"Currently, the prospect for LFP to make indents into Western EV markets is low. OEMs in North America and Europe remain focused on using high nickel cathode improvements to deliver higher energy density for passenger EVs than is offered by NCM 523/622 technologies. In turn, cathode producers are aligning their expansion plans to meet OEMs’ plans. Western OEMs also have a particularly long lead time that would need to be followed for qualification of different technologies and materials, which also makes it less likely for these OEMs to change tack in the near future.",{"type":566,"attrs":640,"content":641},{"textAlign":49},[642],{"text":643,"type":571},"However, with LFP’s technological improvements and the opening up of its associated patents, there may be an opportunity for higher quality cathode producers to compete in part of Western markets that would be serviced by NCM 523/622 technologies and ex-EV applications.",{"type":566,"attrs":645,"content":646},{"textAlign":49},[647],{"text":648,"type":571},"LFP has a lot of potential in the use in heavy duty and electric bus applications, which don’t have the same power and kWh-to-weight requirements as passenger EVs, while the cost is more of an issue — both of which LFP caters for well. This is already playing out, as this August German company Trailer Dynamics signed a supply contract with CATL for LFP batteries to be used in its Newton eTrailer semi, which will be launched in 2023.",{"type":566,"attrs":650,"content":651},{"textAlign":49},[652],{"text":653,"type":571},"While LFP might not develop to take a large share of the passenger EV market in Europe, it will likely feature in EU vehicles at some stage in the future, particularly in the low-budget end of the passenger market. As the EV market grows, between them European automakers will offer hundreds of different models and it would be naïve to expect only one cell technology to be used.",{"type":588,"attrs":655,"content":656},{"level":590,"textAlign":49},[657],{"text":658,"type":571},"What does LFP’s resurgence mean for raw materials?",{"type":566,"attrs":660,"content":661},{"textAlign":49},[662],{"text":663,"type":571},"While the resurgence of LFP is not about the price of lithium, the technology’s resurgence holds a number of implications for raw materials markets.",{"type":566,"attrs":665,"content":666},{"textAlign":49},[667],{"text":668,"type":571},"With lithium hydroxide forecast to take a greater share from the increased demand of high nickel cathode technologies, lithium carbonate’s market share is set to steadily decline. However, in absolute terms demand for carbonate will continue to grow and LFP’s input will be critical to this as Benchmark’s Lithium Forecast shows demand for carbonate from LFP is to increase by 3.5x between 2020 and 2025.",{"type":566,"attrs":670,"content":671},{"textAlign":49},[672],{"text":673,"type":571},"The lower cost of LFP is tied to low input costs of iron and phosphate as raw materials, which when comparted to its NCM cousin — reliant on nickel and cobalt — which gives LFP its fundamental cost advantage.",{"type":566,"attrs":675,"content":676},{"textAlign":49},[677],{"text":678,"type":571},"Growing demand for LFP also implications for anode materials, as typically higher natural graphite intensity anodes are paired with LFP cathodes.","In 2020 there seems to have been a resurgence of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathodes in the battery supply chain. So, why is this and what are the implications for raw materials? Firstly, we should note that LFP never went away. According to Benchmark’s Cathode Market Assessment, production of LFP cathodes has increased 8.1x between […]",[681],{"slug":554,"name":555,"content":682},{"job_title":557,"image":683,"bio":560,"linkedin":561},{"filename":559},"\u003C!--#storyblok#{\"name\": \"article\", \"space\": \"\", \"uid\": \"8aab5006-633c-4030-b007-133e5d93e32f\", \"id\": \"\"}-->","article",[687],{"slug":688,"name":689},"critical-minerals","Critical Minerals","private",{"id":49,"alt":692,"name":692,"focus":692,"title":692,"source":692,"filename":693,"copyright":692,"fieldtype":694,"meta_data":695,"is_external_url":51},"","https://a.storyblok.com/f/287943243085208/11fda42d40/bm-gse-15.jpg","asset",{"alt":692,"title":692,"source":692,"copyright":692},"Aug 19, 2020","19th August 2020",[],[],1780670088795]