10 Facts about Lithium Battery Materials
Global Battery materials market was US$19bn as of 2018 (2.6x from 2015), and is estimated to grow at 13% 7-years CAGR, to US$43bn by 2025.
Recycling could provide 7% of all Batteries’ raw materials in 2030.
Graphite has firmly maintained its throne of Anode materials since Sony first commercialized its Lithium Batteries, while other materials, including Cathode materials, separators, etc have changed.
Battery grade Natural Graphite must achieved >99.5% purity.
Artificial Graphite is generated by heating carbon precursors at high temperature >2800˚C.
Artificial graphite cost ~2x more than natural graphite, but is required for quick charging capability and with less swelling characteristics.
Price of graphite is suppressed because the consumption is primarily driven by globally depressed Steel market.
Cobalt is a by-product of the primary Copper and Nickel mining, and 70% (2019) produced in DRC (Democratic Republic of the Congo).
Electrolyte input per unit cell is reducing due to increasing input of cathode and anode materials in order to increase the capacity per unit cell.
The ratio of wet and dry separators is expected to shift from about 62:38 in 2019 to 72:28 in 2025.
