Column: Electric dreams turn into a nightmare for battery metals
A sector that was once racing to build new supply has been closing mines and deferring projects as low prices bite into the cost curve.
UK-based battery material company Integrals Power said it has made a breakthrough in lithium manganese iron phosphate (LMFP) cathode active materials for battery cells.
The company has successfully developed and validated its next-generation lithium manganese iron phosphate (LMFP) cathode active material, which it says could increase electric vehicle (EV) range by up to 20%. In addition, it has overcome the drop in specific capacity compared that typically occurs as the percentage of manganese in increased.
The result, according to Integrals Power, is cathode active materials that support higher voltages and high energy density.
By overcoming this trade-off, these cathode active materials combine the best attributes of the lithium iron phosphate (LFP) chemistries — relatively low cost, long cycle life and good low temperature performance — with energy density comparable to more expensive nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) chemistries.
The company said this means EV range could increase by up to 20%, or — for a given range — allow battery packs to become smaller and lighter.
The developed materials will soon be available for cell suppliers, battery manufacturers and OEMs to evaluate and benchmark.
The LMFP materials feature 80% manganese, instead of the 50-70% typically found in competing materials, and have higher specific capacity: 150mAh/g, while delivering a voltage of 4.1V (Vs 3.45V for LFP).
Third-party testing by experts at the Graphene Engineering Innovation Centre (GEIC) have been completed on coin cells and now evaluated using EV-representative pouch cells, the company said, adding that the developed materials will soon be available for cell suppliers, battery manufacturers and OEMs to evaluate and benchmark.
“The challenge that the automotive industry has been trying to overcome for some time is to push up the percentage of manganese in LMFP cells to a high level while retaining the same specific capacity as LFP,” Integrals Power CEO Behnam Hormozi said in a news release. “Using traditional methods the more manganese you add, the more specific capacity drops, and this has meant it can’t deliver a high energy density.
“With the third-party evaluation from the Energy team at GEIC, we’re proud to have developed a world-class cell material in the UK that can rival the performance of NCM but is more sustainable and more affordable, and will accelerate the transition to e-mobility.”
Integrals Power produced the LMFP cathode active materials at its new UK facility, alongside its proprietary LFP chemistry.
The capability to manufacture materials such as these in the UK is critical to the development of a sustainable domestic battery industry and supporting not just the 2030 ban on sales of new combustion engine vehicles, but also 2050’s net zero emissions targets, the company noted.
