Date: 2025-07-04 hits: 101
As early as February 2024, foreign media reported that Tesla was expanding its battery factory in Sparks, Nevada, to introduce a cheaper lithium iron phosphate battery supply chain to the United States.
Earlier this year, a patent published by Tesla showed that the company was working with battery expert Jeff Dahn to combine standard lithium iron phosphate battery cells with a small amount of nickel-based materials through mixed positive electrode material technology to optimize the performance of lithium iron phosphate batteries.
Today, Tesla's world's first lithium iron phosphate battery factory is officially announced to be put into production soon.
It is understood that Tesla's lithium iron phosphate battery factory is expected to have an initial production capacity of 10GWh, mainly serving energy storage business and some models. The equipment is provided by CATL and Tesla has full control over the operation. The subsequent production capacity will be further increased.
After the factory is put into production, it will reduce Tesla's battery costs (lithium iron phosphate batteries cost less than ternary lithium batteries), support Tesla's energy storage business growth, and may promote industry technological innovation and supply chain adjustments.
Tesla has been a staunch supporter of ternary batteries since the birth of the cow. There is a saying that Tesla's first model was equipped with a ternary lithium battery, and the pure electric range was only 320 kilometers. According to the battery and thermal management technology at the time, if lithium iron phosphate batteries were used, the range in winter might be less than 150 kilometers, so Tesla could only choose ternary lithium batteries.
In 2019, Tesla introduced LG Energy Solutions, a new power battery supplier in addition to Panasonic. At that time, LG Energy Solutions also only produced ternary batteries.
Until February 2020, Tesla introduced the third power battery supplier, CATL. And said that the batteries supplied by CATL to Tesla will be lithium iron phosphate, which will be supplied from July 2020 and applied to the Model 3 standard models produced by Tesla's Shanghai factory.
So far, Tesla has used lithium iron phosphate for the first time.
The lithium iron phosphate version of Model 3 is popular in the market. First of all, from the most important safety perspective, the safety of the lithium iron phosphate version of Model 3 is more reassuring to consumers than the ternary battery version of Model 3; secondly, the battery pack of the lithium iron phosphate version of Model 3 supports a higher range.
In October 2020, the standard version of Model1 3 produced by Tesla's Shanghai factory officially started the export business of complete vehicles, with a total of several thousand units, and the export countries include more than ten European countries including Germany, France, Italy, and Switzerland. It is reported that the battery cells used in this batch of Model 3 are lithium iron phosphate batteries from CATL.
In July 2021, Tesla said in its second quarter 2021 earnings call, "We will make a change in the battery composition, similar to using 2/3 iron phosphate batteries and 1/3 nickel batteries.
In April 2022, half of Tesla's vehicles are now equipped with lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries when they leave the factory.
Now, Tesla not only uses lithium iron phosphate batteries, but also produces lithium iron phosphate batteries.
Data shows that lithium iron phosphate batteries completely dominate in my country. Not only has the year-on-year growth rate surpassed ternary batteries by a large margin, but the proportion of ternary batteries has entered the "28 era".
In overseas markets, lithium iron phosphate batteries are also gradually gaining momentum, and overseas power battery companies have launched lithium iron phosphate batteries. For example, LG Energy has signed lithium iron phosphate positive electrode material supply agreements with a number of Chinese positive electrode material companies, and stated that it will improve the market competitiveness of its lithium iron phosphate and lithium manganese iron phosphate batteries; Samsung SDI launched LFP battery products optimized for electric commercial vehicles at the 2024 industry exhibition: SKOn has completed the research and development of LFP batteries and plans to launch them in 202 Production started in 2026.
In terms of car companies, in addition to Tesla, many car companies including Stelantis, GM, Hyundai, Volkswagen, Renault Group, etc. have indicated that they will introduce LFP batteries. Especially Renault Group, which issued a purchase order for 39GWh of LFP batteries in July 2024.
In the United States, the progress of the lithium iron phosphate battery industry has been significantly accelerated:
LG Energy's battery factory in Michigan has built two lithium iron phosphate battery production lines and started mass production of energy storage soft-pack lithium iron phosphate batteries this month,
Ford's first self-built lithium iron phosphate battery factory using CATL technology licensing cooperation has been completed, and equipment installation is about to begin and is scheduled to be put into production next year; GM has asked LGES and SDI to add lithium iron phosphate battery production lines to its joint venture battery factory in the United States:
With the support of multiple factors such as economy and safety, the future "power + energy storage" dual-wheel drive is conducive to the development of lithium iron phosphate batteries,
Chinese lithium iron phosphate battery companies with rich technical experience, strong supply chain mobilization capabilities and cost control capabilities will still be the main force in the global supply of lithium iron phosphate batteries.
