Analysis of the Lithium Battery Industry Chain-xmacey.com

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Analysis of the Lithium Battery Industry Chain

April 03 , 2025

Analysis of the Lithium Battery Industry Chain

1. Overview of the lithium battery industry chain

The complete lithium battery industry chain includes the mining and processing of raw materials such as lithium, cobalt, and graphite, the production and manufacturing of the four major materials and auxiliary materials of lithium batteries, the manufacturing and assembly of battery cells, terminal applications, and the recycling of waste lithium batteries. After more than 20 years of development, it has formed an industrial chain system with a high degree of specialization and clear division of labor. The upstream raw materials of lithium batteries were originally nickel ore, cobalt ore, lithium ore, graphite ore, etc. After processing, these mineral resources obtained a series of salts and intermediate products, which are widely used in the manufacture of battery materials (positive electrode materials, negative electrode materials, diaphragms, and electrolytes).

Lithium Battery Industry Chain

2. Upstream raw materials

1) Lithium ore

In the lithium battery industry, the initial raw materials for the production of lithium salt products are generally spodumene and lithium-containing salt lake brine. After processing, industrial-grade lithium carbonate is obtained and used as raw materials to further produce lithium hydroxide, battery-grade lithium carbonate, battery-grade lithium chloride, battery-grade lithium hydroxide, high-purity lithium carbonate, battery-grade metallic lithium, etc., which are widely used in the manufacturing process of lithium battery materials.

At present, there are three main processes for obtaining lithium resources: lithium extraction from spodumene, lithium extraction from lepidolite and brine (lithium extraction from salt lakes).

2) Cobalt ore
Cobalt products mainly include metal cobalt, cobalt oxides and hydroxides, cobalt salts and other forms. Cobalt tetraoxide, cobalt oxide, cobalt chloride and cobalt sulfate are all upstream raw materials for lithium battery positive electrode materials.

Cobalt and nickel are important components of the positive electrode materials of ternary batteries. However, high-nickel ternary batteries are currently a hot research topic. The ratio of nickel, cobalt and manganese in the positive electrode materials of high-nickel batteries has been increased to 8:1:1. In comparison, they have a higher energy density, which can significantly reduce costs while increasing battery life. The demand for nickel may increase significantly in the future.

3. Midstream lithium battery raw materials and equipment

1) Overview of midstream lithium battery materials

Manufacturers of materials such as positive electrode materials, negative electrode materials, electrolytes and diaphragms are midstream companies in the lithium-ion battery industry chain. They are provided with raw materials by upstream raw material companies and provide raw materials for lithium-ion battery cell manufacturers. Battery cell manufacturers use positive and negative electrode materials, electrolytes and diaphragms provided by upstream battery cell material manufacturers to produce lithium-ion battery cell products of different specifications and capacities.

2) Positive electrode materials
Positive electrode materials are the most critical raw materials for lithium-ion batteries. The upstream positive electrode materials of lithium batteries are mineral raw materials such as lithium, cobalt, and nickel, which are combined with conductive agents, binders, etc. to make precursors. The precursors are synthesized through a certain process to obtain positive electrode materials, which are applied in different fields.

There are two mainstream technical routes for positive electrode materials: ternary material positive electrode and LFP lithium iron phosphate positive electrode.

3) Negative electrode materials

Negative electrode materials are mainly used as the main body of lithium storage to achieve the embedding and de-embedding of lithium ions during the charging and discharging process.

4) Separator
Lithium battery separator is a specially formed polymer film with a microporous structure that allows lithium ions to freely pass through while electrons cannot, thus completing the rapid transfer of lithium ions between the positive and negative electrodes during the charging and discharging process. The upstream of the lithium battery separator is made of PP, PE, PI, PA and other polymers prepared from raw materials such as ethylene, propylene, terephthalic acid, and ethylene glycol. The separator products are prepared through different processes and applied to different battery cell products.

5) Electrolyte
The role of the electrolyte is to form a good ion conductive channel between the positive and negative electrodes inside the battery. It is called the "blood" of lithium-ion batteries and is the guarantee for lithium-ion batteries to obtain advantages such as high voltage and high specific energy. It is generally prepared in a certain proportion under certain conditions with high-purity organic solvents, electrolytes, additives and other materials. It is a carbonate solvent dissolved with lithium hexafluorophosphate.

6) Equipment

Lithium battery manufacturing equipment is generally divided into three types: front-end equipment, mid-end equipment, and back-end equipment. The equipment accuracy and automation level will directly affect the production efficiency and consistency of lithium batteries.

Coin Cell Lab-Scale Fabrication Line

Cylindrical Cell Lab-Scale Fabrication Line

Pouch Cell Lab-Scale Fabrication Line

Acey New Energy is specialized in researching and manufacturing of high-end equipment for lithium-ion batteries. We can not only provide lithium ion battery lab fabrication equipment for cylindrical battery, coin cell and pouch cell, but also provide one-stop solution for lithium battery pack assembly line, if you are new in lithium ion battery industry, and want to build your own lithium ion battery production line or lithium ion battery pack assembly line, we can provide you professional technical support and guidance, please feel free to contact us!

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