Lithium hexafluorophosphate production capacity, output, and shipments have increased rapidly, and my country’s market concentration is high

Lithium battery electrolyte consists of three parts: lithium salt, additives, and organic solvents. Among them, lithium salt is the core component of the electrolyte, accounting for 10%-15% of the quality of the electrolyte and about 50% of the cost of the electrolyte. Lithium salts mainly include lithium hexafluorophosphate (LiPF₆), lithium tetrafluoroborate (LiBF₄), lithium difluoroxalate borate (LIODFB), lithium bisfluorosulfonyl imide (LiFSI), lithium bisoxalate borate (LiBOB) and other types. Lithium hexafluorophosphate It is the most commonly used electrolyte lithium salt.

Lithium hexafluorophosphate is a cutting-edge material in the lithium battery industry. It is a white crystalline or powdery inorganic substance with the chemical formula LiPF6. It is easily soluble in water and soluble in low-concentration ethanol, methanol, carbonates and other organic solvents. It has a high melting point and high solubility. It has the characteristics of good performance, excellent environmental friendliness, high ionic conductivity, and improved battery cycle performance. It is widely used in lithium-ion energy storage batteries, lithium-ion power batteries, digital batteries and other fields.

Lithium hexafluorophosphate can be produced by six methods: gas-solid method, solid-solid method, organic solvent method, rheological phase method, hydrogen fluoride solvent method and hexafluorophosphate conversion method. Currently, due to gas-solid method, solid-solid method, rheological phase method and hexafluorophosphate conversion method, The phosphate conversion method is affected by factors such as production technology and has not achieved large-scale production. The organic solvent method and the hydrogen fluoride solvent method are the main ways to produce lithium hexafluorophosphate in industry.

The production environment of lithium hexafluorophosphate is demanding, the production technology is difficult, and the industry’s technical barriers are high. Therefore, Japan was the only country to achieve large-scale production of lithium hexafluorophosphate in the early days. In recent years, with the continuous support of the government and as my country’s research and development and supply capabilities of lithium battery materials have increased, my country has become the second country in the world to achieve large-scale production of lithium hexafluorophosphate.

According to the “China Lithium Hexafluorophosphate Industry Market In-depth Assessment and 2023-2027 Investment Feasibility Consultation Report” released by the Industrial Research Center, in recent years In recent years, in the context of the adjustment of the world’s energy structure, the fields of new energy storage equipment batteries and new energy vehicle power batteries have developed rapidly, driving the demand for lithium-ion batteries to rise. Against this background, electrolyte shipments increased rapidly, and lithium hexafluorophosphate production capacity and output continued to be released. It is expected that by 2025, global shipments of lithium hexafluorophosphate will exceed 300,000 tons. my country is the world’s largest producer of lithium hexafluorophosphate. In 2022, global lithium hexafluorophosphate production will be about 130,000 tons, a year-on-year increase of 94%. Among them, most of the lithium hexafluorophosphate production comes from China.

In addition, my country is also one of the major exporters of lithium hexafluorophosphate. In the past five years, my country’s exports of lithium hexafluorophosphate have continued to rise, with exports reaching about 20,000 tons in 2022, a year-on-year increase of 35%. South Korea, the United States, Germany, and Japan are my country’s main export destinations for lithium hexafluorophosphate. Among them, South Korea is the most important export destination for my country’s lithium hexafluorophosphate, accounting for about 35% of my country’s total exports of lithium hexafluorophosphate.

Industrial analysts said that the technical barriers to the production of lithium hexafluorophosphate are high, and my country’s market concentration is high. Polyfluoro, Tianci Materials, and Xintai Materials , Shi Dashenghua, Zhejiang Yongtai, etc. are the main manufacturers of lithium hexafluorophosphate in my country. Tianci Materials and Duofuoduo are developing rapidly and are large in scale. Together they account for about 54% of my country’s lithium hexafluorophosphate market share. Among them, Tianci Materials is the largest manufacturer of lithium hexafluorophosphate in my country.