Lithium-Ion – NMC vs LFP

Did you know that lithium-ion is actually a collective name with several different chemistries underneath its umbrella? Two well-known chemistries are Nickel Manganese Cobalt (NMC) and Lithium Ferro Phosphate (LFP). But what differentiates the two chemistries apart?

 

Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxides – LiNi_xMn_yCo_zO₂ – batteries are commonly found in electric cars, power tools and mobile electronics such as mobile smartphones and laptops. What NMC holds to its benefit is that it has a good specific power density and specific energy.

• NMC holds a very high energy density (∼250Wh per kg, LFP has ∼160Wh per kg).
• It unfortunately has many risk factors in terms of its safety.

Lithium Ferro Phosphate – LiFePO₄ – batteries are commonly used for home energy storage, vehicles, and solar-powered lighting systems. As LFP is made with lithium-ion derived chemistry it holds many advantages and disadvantages with other lithium-ion versions. There are however some significant differences.

• It doesn’t contain cobalt or nickel, two components that hold human rights and environmental concerns.
• The price of LFP is significantly lower than the price of NMC.
• Other than having a lower initial cost than NMC, LFP offers a longer cycle life than other lithium-ion chemistries. Compared with the 1000-2300 cycles of NMC, a LFP battery can deliver more than 10 000 cycles under optimal conditions.
• LFP batteries are a great alternative to lead acid batteries.
• A big and very important advantage is the safety of LFP batteries. This thanks to its thermal and chemical stability.

We see that the trend for the coming 5 years is the growing of about 10% of LFP batteries due to the rapid rise of the electrical automotive sector and the energy storage applications. At EXO Industry we can help you with NMC, LFP or any other lithium-ion solution. Just send us a message and we’ll gladly help you right away.