September 18, Midland New Materials (300586. SZ) and Qicai Chemical (300758). SZ) announced on the same day that the two sides signed a strategic cooperation agreement on the construction of a battery-grade Prussian blue (white) project with an annual output of180,000 tons, with an investment of 2.5 billion yuan.
Prussian blue (white) is one of the mainstream routes of cathode materials for sodium ion batteries, and both sides indicated that it will boost the development of sodium ion battery industry. Recently, Contemporary Ampere Technology Co., Ltd. also publicly responded, striving to promote the industrialization of sodium ion batteries in 2023.
The secondary market is on the move. In September 19, the sodium ion battery plate rose, and the colorful chemistry rose by more than 18%. Chuanyi Technology once had a daily limit, and many stocks such as Xinzhoubang, Shandong Zhanggu and Midland New Materials followed suit.
The technical route has not been unified.
According to the data, Midland New Materials is mainly engaged in color masterbatch and melt-blown non-woven fabrics, and Qicai Chemical is mainly engaged in the research, development, production and sales of high-performance organic pigments and dyes.
The two sides stated in the announcement that colorful chemistry has the advantages of Prussian blue (white) industrialization technology, cost and environmental protection treatment; Midland New Materials has the production capacity, cost and technical advantages of sodium cyanide, the core raw material of Prussian blue (white) upstream, and plans to set up a joint venture company with capital contribution of * * * *, with each party holding 50% shares.
According to the announcement, the two sides will give full play to their respective advantages and establish a deep strategic partnership through industrial technology cooperation and capital cooperation.
Finance and economics. Com contacted midland new materials in this regard. The other party said that it is only an intentional agreement at present, and further news will be announced. It is not convenient to give a specific reply now.
Finance and economics. Also called colorful chemical industry. The staff of the company's securities department said that they had just learned the news. The specific ways of cooperation have not yet been implemented, mainly by way of announcement. The company's shareholding company Anshan Huihong has relevant production technology.
In August last year, Colorful Chemical once said on the interactive platform that Prussian Blue is one of Huihong's main products with a production capacity of 3,000 tons/year.
It is understood that Prussian blue was originally used as a pigment and dye, such as Van Gogh's Starry Sky on the Rhone. In the chemical field, Prussian Blue Analogue (PBAs) has excellent electrochemical performance and has become one of the mainstream cathode materials for sodium ion batteries.
Similar to the technical route dispute of cathode materials for lithium batteries, there are many technical routes of cathode materials for sodium ion batteries, mainly including layered transition metal oxides, polyanionic compounds and Prussian blue analogues. Among them, layered transition metal oxides are similar to lithium ternary materials, and polyanionic compounds are closer to lithium ferrous phosphate structure.
Each has its own advantages and disadvantages, and there is no clear leading technical route at present. Liu Jimao, a veteran of new energy, told Caijing. Among the three, layered oxides have the highest energy density and mature preparation technology, but the disadvantage is low stability; Polyanionic compounds have stable structure, but low specific capacity and low conductivity, so it is difficult to produce on a large scale. Prussian blue has obvious cost advantage, but high technical threshold.
Northeast Securities Research Report shows that contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Ltd. adopts two technical routes: layered oxide and Prussian blue in the selection of cathode materials for sodium ion batteries. NatronEnergy company of the United States chooses high-magnification Prussian blue; Layered oxide cathode materials are used by Sinochem Sodium, Hunan Cube and FARADION Company in Britain. Sichuan Instrument Technology adopts layered oxide and polyanion cathode materials.
Guotai Junan Securities believes that short-term layered transition metal oxide materials are at the forefront of industrialization, and long-term three-way or parallel development. The synthesis cost of Prussian blue compounds is very low, but the fast charging performance is excellent, but the crystal water in the structure is difficult to remove, which has certain security risks. If the limiting factors of the two materials are improved in the future, it is expected to form a new situation with three pillars and complementary advantages.
Industrialization may be ushered in in 2023.
In fact, the research of sodium ion battery is not later than that of lithium ion battery. Its battery principle and structure are the same as that of lithium battery, and its main structure includes positive electrode, negative electrode, current collector, electrolyte and diaphragm. Under the background that the price of lithium continues to exceed expectations, the industry is actively looking for substitutes, and sodium ion batteries have regained market attention by virtue of their cost advantages.
From the perspective of raw material reserves, sodium resources are very rich. Compared with the current lithium price of more than 500,000 yuan/ton, the price of 1 ton sodium carbonate is only 2,000-3,000 yuan. Battery companies, including Contemporary Ampere Technology Co., Ltd. and Sinochem Sodium, have increased the research and development and industrialization of sodium batteries.
But the other side of the coin is. Sodium ion batteries are inferior to lithium batteries except for their low price. Wang Chaoyang, president of the Institute of Battery and Energy Storage, once compared the sodium ion battery to a spare tire, pointing out that its energy density is not too high and its production cost is not necessarily low because of the lack of supply chain.
Another basic fact is that with favorable policies and market attention, the industrial chain of sodium ion batteries is accelerating and improving, laying the foundation for its subsequent commercial application, and spare tires are expected to accelerate.
For example, Bai Rong Science and Technology once predicted that the cathode materials of sodium batteries will be mass-produced by 100 tons or even hundreds of tons a month next year. The company plans to produce 36,000 tons/year of cathode materials for sodium batteries in 2023 and 654.38+10,000 tons/year in 2025.
Zhongke Haina plans to expand Huayang Company 10GWh sodium ion battery anode and cathode material production line; Synergistic effect with polyfluoride in electrolyte. Sodium Innovation Energy plans to put into production 3,000 tons of cathode materials and 5,000 tons of electrolyte in 2022, and build 80,000 tons of cathode materials and supporting electrolyte production lines in stages in the next 3-5 years.
According to the paper, Contemporary Ampere Technology Co., Ltd. is committed to promoting the industrialization of sodium ion batteries in 2023, including not only the mass production of batteries, but also the establishment of upstream industrial chain. This kind of battery can be used in electric vehicles and energy storage power stations respectively.
There should be more next year. Some people in the new energy industry told Caijing. Com said that sodium batteries will replace some lithium batteries from energy storage, two-wheeled and some passenger cars.
Another person in the new energy industry who did not want to be named told Caijing. Sodium ion battery technology may be deployed in 2023. According to rumors of huge cost-saving space, sodium ion batteries may be the killer weapon for new energy vehicles to end oil vehicles.
Industrial Securities predicts that the supporting industrial chain of sodium ion batteries will be initially formed in 2023. When all links in the industrial chain are in place, the production cost of sodium ion batteries will have obvious advantages over lithium ferrous phosphate.