There are 5 material companies with a lithium iron phosphate output of more than 30,000 tons in 2021, including Defang Nano, Hunan Yuneng, Changzhou Lithium Source (Betteri), Hubei Wanrun, and Guoxuan Hi-Tech, the above-mentioned manufacturers will produce 258,700 tons of lithium iron phosphate in 2021, accounting for 63% of the total industry volume.
In 2021, China's lithium iron phosphate production totaled 410,000 tons, a year-on-year increase of 179. The production of lithium iron phosphate in 2021 has increased significantly compared with previous years, mainly due to the explosion of terminal demand in the new energy vehicle market this year. The proportion of lithium materials in battery applications continues to increase, replacing ternary and lithium manganate. SMM predicts that lithium iron phosphate production will reach 698,000 tons in 2022, a year-on-year increase of 70%.
In terms of market structure, according to SMM research statistics, there will be 5 material companies with a lithium iron phosphate output exceeding 30,000 tons in 2021, including Defang Nano, Hunan Yuneng, and Changzhou Lithium Source (Beijing). Terry), Hubei Wanrun, and Guoxuan Hi-Tech. The above-mentioned manufacturers will produce 258,700 tons of lithium iron phosphate in 2021, accounting for 63% of the total industry volume.
With the current increase in terminal demand and the sharp increase in various raw materials in the industry, the demand for cost reduction by downstream new energy vehicle companies continues to exist. Lithium iron phosphate is suitable for the 5 and 6 series of medium and low nickel tertiary products. The substitution of primary materials is accelerating, and the proportion of terminal applications continues to increase, driving the demand for lithium iron phosphate materials in the future. However, considering the low energy density of lithium iron phosphate material itself, it may focus on the mid-to-low-end new energy vehicle market in the future. Previously, some of the core patents of lithium iron phosphate, such as carbon coating, carbon reduction, and basic structure, were almost all in the hands of overseas companies. This also caused domestic companies to face huge patent fees when producing or selling lithium iron phosphate materials overseas. This has also led to the weakening of the core cost-effectiveness advantage of iron-lithium materials and weak external expansion. However, these patents will gradually expire in the next one or two years, and the patents will be made public by then. This may become one of the key opportunities for the expansion of overseas production capacity of lithium iron phosphate materials.