main content:
1. Existing issues
The main problems of lithium-ion batteries are high price and overcharge and discharge protection. The price of a single AA-type battery from Duracell in the United States is about 15 times that of Ni-Cd batteries and 10 times that of Ni/MH batteries. The high price of lithium-ion batteries is mainly reflected in the high cost of materials used in the batteries.
In terms of battery overcharge and discharge protection, because the battery uses a non-aqueous solvent, it cannot use water splitting and recombination to achieve battery overcharge and discharge protection like traditional rechargeable batteries. If an integrated circuit is used to control the voltage of each cell in a series battery pack, although it is effective, the cost and volume of the battery will increase; moreover, it will be difficult to protect high-power batteries by this method, and the cost will be higher.
2. Development prospects
With the advancement of science and technology, the development of new electronic equipment such as notebook computers, microcomputers, digital cameras, mobile phones, medical equipment, and low-Earth orbit earth satellites and high-orbit synchronous satellites has put forward higher requirements for the battery industry. New green power sources with low cost, high energy density, high voltage, light weight, wide operating temperature, long life cycle and good safety performance have become a research hotspot. The lithium-ion secondary battery has become a new type of battery with bright market prospects and the fastest development. Taking Japan as an example, in 1993, the sales of lithium-ion batteries in Japan were 1.6 billion yen, and in 1994 it surged to 17.9 billion yen, an increase of 11.2 times, and doubled to 33.9 billion yen in 1995. Annual sales reached 200 million US dollars; and in 1996, the output value of lithium-ion batteries surpassed Ni-MH batteries for the first time in Japan, and in 1997, it surpassed nickel-cadmium batteries, ranking first in the "troika" of small rechargeable batteries (referring to lithium-ion batteries, nickel-metal hydride batteries and nickel-cadmium batteries). Due to the increasing market demand, from the fourth quarter of 2002, the global supply of lithium batteries has also exceeded that of nickel-metal hydride batteries. In the fourth quarter of 2003, the monthly supply of lithium-ion batteries reached 100 million, while nickel-metal hydride batteries dropped to 50 million per month. Shipments of lithium-ion batteries are almost double that of nickel-metal hydride batteries. The significant advantages of lithium-ion batteries will make them gradually replace nickel-metal hydride batteries and nickel-cadmium batteries in the small battery market such as mobile communications.
Since Sony industrialized lithium-ion batteries in 1991, the global lithium-ion battery industry has been basically controlled by Japanese companies. Before 2000, Japan's battery production accounted for more than 95% of the world's battery production. Now the United States, South Korea, France, Germany, Canada, China, etc. are also focusing on the development of lithium-ion batteries. The development of these non-Japanese battery companies has begun to have an impact on the production and application market of lithium-ion batteries in Japan. China began to develop secondary lithium batteries in the mid-1970s, and Tianjin Power Research Institute and Beijing Nonferrous Metals Research Institute are now capable of mass production. Harbin Shengri Power Co., Ltd., Wuhan Lixing Power Co., Ltd., etc. have also announced the launch of lithium-ion battery samples. But in terms of China's technological level, it is still quite backward, and many key raw materials still rely on imports. Compared with the advanced countries in the world, there is a big gap between the research and development of lithium-ion batteries in China.
In order to meet the urgent needs of high-performance lithium-ion batteries in emerging industries such as notebook computers, cameras and third-generation mobile communications, countries around the world have formed a research and development boom in high-performance lithium-ion batteries and their key materials.
Lithium-ion batteries are developing towards high performance (ie high energy density, long life, safety) and low cost. The main research focus is to develop new materials, new designs and new technologies for high-performance lithium-ion batteries. For example, Japanese battery manufacturers have continuously improved the performance of lithium-ion batteries by adopting new materials and new technologies, so that their lithium-ion batteries have always maintained a cost-effective advantage over Chinese products, and they still dominate the high-end lithium-ion battery market; Although the company has the competitive advantage of extremely low labor costs, because the materials used are basically dependent on imports, especially high-quality materials are all imported from Japan, although the output of lithium-ion batteries in Guangdong Province in my country is rising, the price is still in the Descend at a faster rate.