The LiFePO4 (lithium iron phosphate) battery has a thermal runaway temperature of up to 270°C (150°C for ternary lithium batteries), and when the GB/T 31485-2015 needle test was conducted, the surface temperature only rose to 82°C and without fire (ternary lithium battery fire risk 67%), and the thermal runaway risk was as low as 0.002% (ternary lithium 0.08%). The Tesla Powerwall 3 uses LiFePO4 cells, and UL 1973 certified overcharge testing demonstrates no electrolyte decomposition, an expansion rate of just 0.5% (safety limit of 3%), and a 97% reduction in fire hazard. The laminated structure of the BYD blade battery (40% increase in heat dissipation area) realizes the 55°C high temperature cycle life of 4,500 times (ternary lithium 2,500 times) and capacity attenuation rate of 0.04%/ time (ternary lithium 0.12%).
In cycle life, the LiFePO4 may be cycled more than 6,000 times (2,000 times for ternary lithium) at 80% depth of discharge (DOD), with a 15-year calendar life (8 years for ternary lithium) and an annual attenuation rate of 2% (5% for ternary lithium). According to the German household storage data, the 10-year electricity cost (LCOE) of the LiFePO4 system has fallen from 0.22 euros /kWh to 0.08 euros /kWh, and the return on investment (ROI) has reached 214% (145% for terene lithium systems). Lithium cobaltate batteries (LCO) are 42% more costly than LiFePO4 due to the volatility of the price of cobalt (cobalt price reaches $38 /kg in 2023).
In material composition, olivine crystal lifepo4 (lattice energy 5.8eV) only has a 7% volume change (ternary lithium 20%) during the charging and discharging process, and the pole expansion rate is 0.3% (ternary lithium 1.5%). In the Ningde era, the energy density was raised to 160Wh/kg (250Wh/kg for ternary lithium) and volume energy density to 400Wh/L (650Wh/L for ternary lithium) through nanizing the positive electrode (particle size 150nm), but the gap was filled by CTP technology (volume utilization rate 72%). NREL test shows that the LiFePO4 batteries at -30°C discharge capacity retention rate of 80% (ternary lithium 45%), storage at 60°C for 7 days capacity loss of only 3.2% (ternary lithium 12.7%).
In the environmental protection and resources aspect, LiFePO4 is free of cobalt and nickel (ternary lithium has 20% cobalt and 50% nickel), and the requirement for lithium resources is reduced by 30% (0.6kg lithium carbonate per kWh, 0.8kg lithium ternary). The EU Battery Regulation requires the recovery rate of lithium to be ≥90%, and the LiFePO4 closed-loop recovery rate has been 95% (ternary lithium 85%). By 2023, the Brunp project will increase the recycling rate of positive electrode material to 98.5% and reduce the cost of recovery per ton by 40% (from $5,000 to $3,000). Nevertheless, terpolymer lithium batteries are prone to high complexity in metal separation and recycling energy consumption of 15kWh/kg (LiFePO4 is 8kWh/kg).
According to market trends, Bloomberg New Energy Finance predicts that LiFePO4 will account for 79% of the world’s energy storage batteries in 2030 (58% in 2023), and the penetration rate of electric vehicles will rise from 12% in 2020 to 43% in 2023. As a representative of the Ningde era, the mass production price of its LiFePO4 battery has dropped to $80 /kWh ($110 /kWh for ternary lithium), which has pulled the price of BYD Han EV and other models down by 15%. In the 2024 Tesla energy storage product lineup, the proportion of installed LiFePO4 battery rose from 30% to 65%, and the overall life cycle carbon emission was only 85kg CO₂/kWh (ternary lithium 150kg).
These differences make LiFePO4 the perfect option for high safety, long life and low cost, and its installed capacity globally, according to the International Energy Agency, has expanded from 28GWh in 2019 to 320GWh in 2023, at a compound annual growth rate of 82%, reshaping the competitive landscape of the lithium battery industry.
