High-nickel batteries, as the name suggests, have a higher proportion of nickel in their electrode materials.
The development of high-nickel batteries stemmed from the fact that the mainstream cell technologies on the market previously revolved around lithium iron phosphate, lithium cobalt oxide, lithium manganese oxide, and ternary materials. However, the high price of cobalt kept cell costs high, forcing battery manufacturers to try various methods to reduce the cobalt content. This high price of cobalt, compounded by political instability in its main producing country, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and local restrictions on cobalt ore exports, became an unsolvable problem. Thus, high-nickel batteries emerged.
Simply put, the high-nickel 811 battery means that the ratio of nickel, cobalt and manganese in the positive electrode material has been changed to 80%, 10% and 10%, respectively. This not only reduces the proportion of cobalt, making the cost controllable, but also ensures the energy density of the battery to a certain extent, greatly improving the battery's range, cycle life and safety.
The manufacturing process of high-nickel batteries, from raw materials to cells, is far more difficult than that of other types of cells. The difficulty lies not only in the higher alkalinity of high-nickel materials, but also in overcoming the oxidation of the materials. Many power battery manufacturers dedicated to the research and development of high-nickel ternary materials have been unable to make any further progress in the face of these two problems.
Compared to traditional 523 batteries, although the cost per ton of high-nickel 811 batteries is higher, the high capacity of 811 allows for a significant reduction in the amount of positive electrode material used per Wh of battery. Furthermore, the high energy density of high-nickel 811 batteries further reduces the cost of structural components and manufacturing per Wh. It is certain that high-nickel 811 will be a key tool for cost reduction in the power battery industry in the coming years.
In terms of performance, the higher the nickel content, the greater the potential for increasing the energy density of power batteries. By increasing the proportion of nickel, not only can battery energy density be improved, but the use of cobalt can also be reduced, alleviating the cost pressure caused by rising material prices to some extent. In addition, high-nickel batteries can effectively solve the problem of battery lightweighting, and are superior to ordinary ternary batteries in terms of space saving.
