Gotion High Tech Co. has developed a lithium-iron-manganese-phosphate chemistry.
This new technology could allow EVs to have up to 1,000 kilometres of range.
These batteries should be significantly less expensive than other types.
A Chinese battery company thinks it has found a way to make EV batteries cheaper and more powerful with the help of a new chemistry.
Developed by Gotion High Tech Co., lithium-iron-manganese-phosphate (LMFP) batteries could be the next step in making electric vehicles more appealing to the general public.
Indeed, the company believes this chemistry could provide EVs with a range of up to 1,000 kilometres per charge, something that is currently only possible with very expensive nickel-cobalt units.
By simply adding manganese to the formula already used in lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) batteries, Gotion aims to improve the power density without increasing the costs.
While typical LFP batteries are usually limited to a density of around 190 Wh/kg, the new LMFP type could cope with up to 240 Wh/kg.
Making batteries more power dense allows automakers to either offer a longer range or use a smaller battery to offer the same range as before.
This second option could help make electric vehicles affordable to a larger audience while still ensuring their capabilities are sufficient for most drivers.
Also likely to help with EV adoption is the high charge rate of these batteries which could go from 10 to 80% charge in only 18 minutes when using a Level 3 charging station, about the same time as the latest Hyundai and Kia EVs.
Despite having more types of raw materials than a normal LFP battery, LMFP units are expected to be about 5% cheaper to manufacture, according to Gotion.
While this is impressive, it is even more so when considering that LMFP batteries offer performances similar to those of nickel-cobalt units which typically cost 20 to 25% more.
The Chinese company also says that its new chemistry is safer than nickel-cobalt batteries and that it has passed all of the required safety tests.
Lithium-iron-manganese-phosphate batteries have already been used in some applications before, but never in an electric vehicle due to problems such as low conductivity or high-temperature dissolution, all of which have reportedly been fixed.
This is why LMFP batteries could enter production as soon as the second quarter of 2024 in two factories in China.
Supported by Volkswagen as its largest shareholder, Gotion aims to expand by opening a new factory in Michigan. This could help the company increase its global market share, which made it the 8th largest battery manufacturer in the world last year.
Source: Automotive News
