With the development of science and technology, lithium batteries have become mainstream, and are mainly used in emerging fields such as power lithium batteries and energy storage. In 2019, the global lithium battery industry market size reached US$49.3 billion, with my country accounting for approximately US$18.4 billion, Japan approximately US$14.9 billion, and South Korea approximately US$13 billion. The following is an analysis of the meaning and classification of the lithium battery industry.
my country, Japan, and South Korea have formed a three-way balance in the lithium battery industry. Before 2000, more than 88% of the world's lithium batteries were produced in Japan. After 2000, my country and South Korea successively entered the lithium battery industry and began mass production, forming a three-way balance with Japan. Currently, my country, Japan, and South Korea account for more than 95% of global lithium battery production.
According to lithium battery industry analysis data, as of December 2019, my country's lithium battery production increased by 26.71% year-on-year, reaching 102.00 GWh. Companies such as CATL, BYD, Wotema, Guoxuan High-Tech, BAK, and Farasis Energy all had installed capacities exceeding 1 GWh, representing a significant market share. my country accounted for 54.03% of global production, making it the world's largest lithium battery manufacturer.
Lithium-ion batteries are a type of battery that uses lithium metal or lithium alloys as the negative electrode material and a non-aqueous electrolyte solution. The earliest lithium metal battery was proposed and studied by Gilbert N. Lewis in 1912. In the 1970s, MS Whittingham proposed and began researching lithium batteries. Due to the highly reactive chemical properties of lithium metal, its processing, storage, and use require very strict environmental controls. With the development of science and technology, lithium-ion batteries have become the mainstream technology.
The definition and classification of lithium batteries indicate that lithium batteries on the market can be roughly divided into two categories: lithium metal batteries and lithium batteries.
1. Lithium metal battery
Lithium-metal batteries, developed by SolidEngergy at MIT, could reduce the size of current lithium-ion batteries by half, potentially enabling their use in electric vehicles. While graphite has proven to be the best and most reliable material to date for making cathodes, it has a limited capacity for ions. Researchers have long hoped to replace graphite with lithium metal foil, which can hold more ions, but lithium metal foil often reacts adversely with the electrolyte, leading to overheating and even combustion.
2. Lithium batteries
A lithium-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery that relies heavily on the movement of lithium ions between the positive and negative electrodes to function. During charging and discharging, Li+ ions repeatedly insert and extract between the two electrodes: during charging, Li+ ions extract from the positive electrode, pass through the electrolyte, and insert into the negative electrode, leaving the negative electrode in a lithium-rich state; the reverse occurs during discharging. The definition and classification of lithium-ion batteries indicate that on October 9, 2019, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced that the 2019 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Johann Goodenough, Stanley Whittingham, and Akira Yoshino in recognition of their contributions to the research and development of lithium-ion batteries.
Currently, my country's lithium battery industry is gradually forming an oligopoly, with CATL and BYD firmly occupying the first tier, with a market share of over 70%. In the early years, BYD's lithium iron phosphate batteries dominated the market, but later CATL's ternary lithium batteries caught up. Combined with the new changes in the post-subsidy era, lithium iron phosphate batteries are expected to have a second spring.
