Lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries are all the trend nowadays. Though they provide decrease power density than batteries primarily based on NMC (lithium nickel manganese cobalt) chemistries, they are typically cheaper, and their elements are extra available, much less poisonous and fewer controversial. Automakers together with Ford and Stellantis are steadily constructing manufacturing capability for LFP cells within the US and Europe (usually in cooperation with Asian battery-makers).
LG Vitality Answer has unveiled a brand new facility in Holland, Michigan to supply LFP batteries at scale. The corporate established its first gigawatt-size battery plant in Holland in 2012.
The brand new plant is producing LFP batteries particularly for power storage programs (ESS)—stationary batteries, not battery packs for EVs. (LFP cells supply lengthy cycle life, making them particularly appropriate for ESS purposes.) Common annual manufacturing capability is predicted to be 16.5 GWh. The $1.4-billion plant is predicted to make use of as much as 1,700 individuals
“Now we have an answer the place we are able to present power storage in any location the place the power is being produced and the place it may be utilized in an environment friendly option to optimize the grid,” mentioned Bob Lee, President of North America for LG Vitality Answer, including that the corporate is ready to greater than double its present capability if demand grows.
The Holland facility may even produce NMC cells and modules for the Ford Mustang Mach-E, which LG Vitality Answer beforehand produced in Poland.
LG Vitality Answer at the moment owns 4 battery manufacturing services within the US—two in Holland, one in Lansing, and one in Queen Creek, Arizona.
CleanTechnica’s Paul Fosse obtained an opportunity to tour the brand new plant and observe the manufacturing course of: creating slurry, coating foil, stacking cells with safety-reinforced separators, sealing in aluminum pouches and injecting electrolyte. The method is now operational on two traces, and a 3rd is predicted to enter service by the tip of the yr.
In the meantime, Tesla says it’s “nearing completion” of its personal new LFP battery manufacturing facility, close to its Gigafactory Nevada.
Whereas Ford entered a expertise licensing settlement with Chinese language battery large Catl for its Michigan battery plant, Tesla bought manufacturing gear from the corporate, a technique that has allowed Tesla to keep away from the political problems which have plagued Ford’s CATL partnership.
Battery Know-how’s Michael C. Anderson says video footage launched by Tesla seems to substantiate that the corporate has carried out a moist coating course of for electrode manufacturing on the Nevada facility. This matches CATL’s predominant manufacturing strategies for LFP, however contrasts with the dry coating course of that Tesla is creating for its 4680 cells in Texas.
Tesla’s new facility is predicted to begin with roughly 10 GWh of annual manufacturing capability. The preliminary output is predicted for use in stationary storage merchandise akin to Tesla’s Powerwall and Megapack slightly than in EVs—the identical strategy taken by LG Vitality Answer with its new Michigan LFP facility.
Sources: Tesla, CleanTechnica, Battery Know-how
