Why did BYD return to the lithium iron phosphate battery route?

The "blade battery" is very domineering just by looking at the name. According to BYD's patent information in China National Intellectual Property Administration, the longest length of the "blade battery" can reach 2,500mm, which is more than 10 times of that of the traditional lithium iron phosphate battery, which greatly improves the grouping efficiency of the battery and is a series of batteries that can be resized according to different needs.

According to the data of 2020 Electric Vehicle 100 Committee, the specific energy density of "blade battery" is 50% higher than that of traditional iron battery, and the life of the whole vehicle can reach more than one million kilometers. BYD also claims that "Blade Battery" has more than 300 patents, with a battery life of 600 kilometers and a cost reduction of 30%.

After the news was released, BYD's share price rose sharply, once at the position of 59.5 yuan, hitting a new high since April last year, and the market value of BYD A shares has risen by 30 billion yuan. The capital market has received enthusiastic response, but some experts in the industry don't think that "blade battery" is really as powerful as BYD's propaganda. According to the research report of media international investment bank, the blade battery developed by BYD has more than 300 core patents, which is a lie and misleading behavior. In response, BYD responded that this statement was seriously inaccurate.

In fact, when it comes to lithium iron phosphate batteries, netizens who are familiar with BYD must be familiar with them. Ternary lithium battery was the mainstream of electric vehicle power battery before, and it was BYD's housekeeping skill.

According to the introduction of Battery China, lithium iron phosphate battery refers to lithium ion battery with lithium ferrous phosphate as cathode material. The cathode materials of lithium ion batteries mainly include lithium cobaltate, lithium manganate, lithium nickelate, ternary materials and lithium ferrous phosphate. The advantage of lithium iron phosphate battery is that it is relatively safe. It has been reported that short circuit caused by puncture will cause combustion in actual use, but it has not exploded yet, but the safety is not absolute. If the charging voltage greatly exceeds its discharging voltage, an explosion will still occur; The service life is longer, and the cycle life reaches more than 2000 times; The high temperature performance is better, and the thermal peak of lithium iron phosphate battery can reach 350 ~ 500 degrees.

Of course, lithium ferrous phosphate also has its own disadvantages that cannot be ignored, such as poor low-temperature performance, high material preparation cost and battery manufacturing cost, low battery yield and poor consistency. Compared with thermal ternary lithium battery, lithium ferrous phosphate also shows disadvantages in energy density and volume quality.

Whether the "blade battery" is a practical innovation or a technological innovation is left for the time being. BYD's determination to change the ternary lithium battery as the battery of electric vehicle owners has been very obvious.

BYD, as the earliest OEM to develop new energy vehicles in China, used its own lithium iron phosphate battery in its early electric vehicles, and BYD e5 is a familiar model. Next, there will be a heavy model BYD Han re-equipped with the classic lithium iron phosphate battery.

In addition, BYD is the largest supplier of lithium iron phosphate batteries in China. However, in recent years when ternary lithium batteries were popular, the shipment of BYD lithium iron phosphate batteries was hit, and the shipment of BYD lithium iron phosphate batteries decreased by 37% in 20 19. BYD launched "Blade Battery" and BYD Korea's new car. CITIC Securities predicts that after 2020, "blade battery" technology will drive the recovery of iron and lithium, and the installed capacity of BYD lithium iron phosphate battery will be significantly improved.

In addition, Gao, an academician of Chinese Academy of Sciences and vice chairman of China electric vehicle committee of 100, thinks that the cost of China power battery system will drop to about 0.6 yuan-1 yuan/watt-hour (Wh) in 20 19, and there is still room for battery cost reduction in the next five years. Ternary lithium batteries are expected to drop to 0.7 yuan/Watt-hour (Wh) before 2025. There is still room in Ferrous lithium phosphate, but the value of battery recycling needs to be emphasized.

According to the analysis of the insiders, under the industrial structure that contemporary Amperex Technology Co, Limited is almost equivalent to ternary lithium battery, and under the expectation that the international power battery giants will be released from the ban in China in 2020, BYD's route to return to lithium iron phosphate battery is wise, but it is also full of uncertainty, because it depends on whether BYD Korea's sales can reach the expected level and whether more car companies are willing to "stand in line" with lithium iron phosphate battery.