There are differences in solubility and application between lithium sulfate and lithium carbonate:
1. The solubility of lithium sulfate in water is much higher than that of lithium carbonate, so lithium sulfate is more easily ionized to lithium in aqueous solution. The solubility of lithium carbonate is relatively low and requires special treatment before it can be converted into lithium ions.
2. Lithium sulfate has high solubility and is commonly used as an electrolyte in batteries. Lithium sulfate batteries have high energy density and long life, and are often used in high-end products such as portable devices. Lithium carbonate is generally used in the preparation of lithium-ion battery cathode materials, such as lithium iron phosphate cathode materials. Lithium carbon batteriesate are safer than lithium sulfate batteries, but have slightly lower energy density and lifespan.
A 1 Gwh battery requires approximately 2,200 to 2,500 tons of lithium iron phosphate cathode material. Each ton of lithium iron phosphate requires approximately 0.25 tons of lithiumcarbonate. There is not much difference between each company in terms of material consumption.
From a material point of view, a 1 kWh power battery requires approximately 2.3 to 2.5 kg of cathode material. The cost of cathode material is mainly composed of lithium carbonate and various corresponding precursor materials.
A 1 kWh power battery requires approximately 1.3 to 1.4 kg of negative electrode material; the amount of electrolyte varies greatly depending on the cathode material used. Among the 1 kWh power batteries, there are 1.2 kg (like the Leaf). also 1.6 kg lithium manganate batteries (such as ternary lithium manganate + NCM batteries used in Volt) and 2.16 kg batteries (such as lithium iron phosphate batteries used in Qin PHEV).
Different electric battery products also have large differences in the amount of separation materials used. Taking representative enterprises as an example, in a 1 kWh electric battery, AESC's lithium manganese battery uses about 12.5 square meters of LG Chem separator. The “lithium manganate + ternary” battery is nearly 19 square meters, while BYD’s lithium iron phosphate battery requires 23.5 square meters.