Lithium battery electrode push

The need for higher-performance batteries for consumer electronics, hybrid/electric vehicles and other applications will quickly create a large market for novel lithium battery electrode materials.

This is the conclusion of a report, ‘New Electrode Materials for Lithium-Ion Batteries 2012’ by NanoMarkets.

Revenues from non-conventional electrode materials are expected to represent an almost 25% share of all lithium battery electrode materials sold by 2017. At present this share is 8%.

Although many materials are being tried out, it is believed that those with the most potential for cathodes are lithium manganese oxide, lithium iron phosphate, nickel manganese cobalt composite and nickel cobalt alumina composite.

For anodes, the growth opportunities are to be found in lithium titanate and silicon.

The report also analyses and forecasts markets for the traditional electrode materials; lithium cobalt oxide and graphite.

The current performance of lithium-ion batteries limits their addressable markets especially in motor vehicle and smart grid applications. Better electrodes seem the main way to address these limitations and the success of lithium manganese oxide (LMO) as the novel cathode material that allowed the lithium-ion battery to break into the power tools business has paved the way for this strategy.

To date, LMO is the only non-conventional electrode material to reach high volume sales and revenues.

The fastest-growing electrode material markets will be those for lithium iron phosphate and nickel manganese cobalt for cathodes. Lithium-ion phosphate seems well positioned to challenge LMO since it can offer a similar performance, but is considered to be safer.

This makes it attractive in a number of markets especially motor vehicles. Nickel manganese cobalt offers an especially high-energy density.

Despite well-established R&D programs intended to replace graphite as the anode material of choice for lithium batteries, the report believes that graphite will still account for more than 90% of the revenues from anode materials until after 2017.

Alternative materials have been quite challenging to develop and are at an early stage of development. However, there is a strong incentive to pursue this goal because EVs are demanding higher energy densities.

Despite the hype about silicon, titanate anodes are likely to offer more immediate business prospects, although there may be some use of silicon by Panasonic and a few other companies in consumer electronics applications.