Investment in Lithium Iron Phosphate Continues to Be Hot, with a Planned Production Capacity of Nearly 1 Million Tons Since October!

Defang Nano, Longpan Technology, Batian Co., Ltd., Huayou Cobalt...Many listed companies have recently "swiped the screen" in the layout of lithium iron phosphate, and the investment enthusiasm continued in the first three quarters of 2021. After sorting out, it is found that since October, the planned annual production capacity of lithium iron phosphate projects announced by listed companies totals nearly 1 million tons, far exceeding the actual production capacity in 2020.

Expansion of high-performance new materials and overseas investment in lithium iron phosphate projects-In the process of investment and expansion of lithium iron phosphate projects by listed companies, in addition to the extension of the industrial chain and strong cooperation and other models, new developments in the industrial chain and geographical layout are shown. Features.

Technological expansion accelerates the progress of phosphate-based materials

On the evening of November 10th, the leading lithium iron phosphate company Defang Nano issued an announcement stating that the company intends to issue no more than 26.768 million A shares to specific targets, and the total amount of funds raised is expected to not exceed 3.2 billion yuan. After deducting the issuance costs, the funds raised from this issuance will be used for the annual production of 110,000 tons of new phosphate-based cathode material production base projects and supplementary working capital.

Compared with the total production capacity of 100,000 tons initially disclosed, Defang Nano has slightly increased the production capacity of new phosphate-based cathode materials by 10,000 tons to 110,000 tons. According to the announcement, the construction site of the project is located in Qujing City, Yunnan Province.

In the competitive landscape where many listed companies deploy lithium iron phosphate through the phosphorus chemical industry chain, lithium battery upstream and downstream companies jointly develop cathode materials, and industry leader Hunan Yuneng seeks to go public, Defang Nano has chosen to "go further in lithium iron phosphate materials". ". Defang Nano stated that the phosphate-based cathode material industry has high technical barriers. The continuous optimization of new product production processes and huge R&D investment make it difficult for new entrants to become competitive.

Industry insiders analyzed that the new phosphate-based cathode material is lithium iron manganese phosphate, which has the characteristics of a high voltage platform and high gram capacity. Under the condition that the cost of a single GWH is basically unchanged, Deutsche Nano has solved its original cycle times. And security "short board".

Defang Nano said that the new materials can significantly increase the energy density of the battery, and retain the advantages of high safety and low cost. This fixed increase can advance the layout of the new phosphate-based cathode material market and enhance its market position in the field of cathode materials.

The company revealed that the current new phosphate-based cathode material products have passed the small-scale test and have initially invested in the construction of the R&D pilot line. The products have passed the small batch verification of key downstream customers and have been highly recognized by customers.

Defang Nano also reminded the digestibility of its downstream customers: The company's main customer, Ningde Times, plans to raise funds of no more than 58.2 billion yuan in August to invest in the research and development and expansion of lithium-ion batteries, adding a total of 137GWH of lithium-ion battery production capacity; main The client Yiwei Lithium Energy and its subsidiaries intend to invest in the construction of a new energy power storage battery industrial park with an annual output of 104.5GWH.

Investment in overseas lithium iron phosphate project is expected to break through

Prior to this, Longpan Technology, another lithium iron phosphate head company, announced that Changzhou Liyuan, the company’s holding subsidiary, intends to establish a joint venture with investment institution STELLAR INVESTMENT PTE.LTD. in Indonesia and establish a joint venture in Central Sulawesi Province. Invest in the development and construction of a lithium iron phosphate cathode material project with an annual output of 100,000 tons in the Morrowali Industrial Park in Rovalli County. The total investment of the project is approximately 235 million U.S. dollars, and Changzhou Liyuan holds 70% of the equity of the joint venture.

Longpan Technology stated that the investment project products involved in the investment contract are mainly the company's strategic layout based on future development needs to expand the industrial scale and meet the overseas market demand of international battery companies, thereby promoting the company's steady development and continuously improving the company's comprehensive Competitiveness.

The pace of expansion of Longpan Technology does not stop there. In 2021, Longpan Technology announced a number of lithium iron phosphate-related expansion plans: In April this year, Changzhou Lithium announced the acquisition of 100% stakes in each of Beterui (Tianjin) and Beterui (Jiangsu); in August, Changzhou Lithium Yuanyuan plans to establish a joint venture with Xinyangfeng to invest in a lithium iron phosphate project with an annual output of 50,000 tons.

The massive expansion of Longpan Technology and the feasibility of its overseas projects have attracted the attention of regulatory authorities. The Shanghai Stock Exchange's inquiry letter required Longpan Technology to "combine the company's current capacity of lithium iron phosphate cathode materials, projects under construction, production line operating rates, product orders, etc., to explain the necessity of continuous external investment and construction of related production capacity."

"The local related mineral resources are relatively rich." The relevant person in charge of Longpan Technology said that the company chose to deploy in Indonesia and fully considered the low cost of various production factors, which can meet the growing downstream international customers to a certain extent. 

In addition, Shengxin Lithium Energy announced that it will cooperate with STELLAR to invest 350 million US dollars in Morovali Industrial Park, Morovali County, Central Sulawesi Province, including an annual output of 50,000 tons of lithium hydroxide and 10,000 tons. Lithium carbonate project; Yiwei Lithium Energy and Huayou International are building a laterite nickel hydrometallurgy project in Indonesia; Ningde Times Indonesia battery plant is expected to be put into operation in 2024.

The doubling of the production capacity of the lithium iron phosphate industry has aroused the industry's concern about overcapacity. Some research institutions believe that lithium iron phosphate will still be in a tight balance between supply and demand in 2022, and when the overcapacity will appear will depend on the rhythm of the release of capacity on the supply side. In addition, the construction period of lithium iron phosphate projects is generally one year to one and a half years, and the increased production capacity of investment may appear in 2022 and 2023.