Market demand for sodium hexafluorophosphate, the core material of sodium-ion batteries, is expected to grow

Sodium hexafluorophosphate is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula NaPF6. It is mainly used to prepare other hexafluorophosphates. As sodium-ion battery products gradually enter mass production, sodium hexafluorophosphate products serve as the core raw materials of sodium-ion batteries. One, the market is expected to grow rapidly.

The “2022-2026 Sodium Hexafluorophosphate Industry In-depth Market Research and Investment Strategy Suggestions Report compiled by the Industrial Research Center shows that as of In July 2022, the price of industrial-grade and battery-grade lithium carbonate has reached more than 460,000 yuan/ton. Affected by the continued price increase of lithium resources, the production cost of lithium battery products continues to increase, and lithium battery companies are gradually developing other types of batteries. Sodium-ion batteries work similarly to lithium-ion batteries, but there are certain bottlenecks in energy density and cycle times. However, affected by the tight supply and demand of lithium and the superior performance of some batteries, companies such as CATL have announced mass production plans for sodium-ion batteries. In July 2021, CATL released the first-generation sodium-ion battery. The key auxiliary materials achieved breakthroughs and the performance exceeded expectations. The energy density of the second-generation sodium battery will reach 200Wh/kg, and the system energy density can reach 160Wh/kg. It is expected that Mass production in 2023.

The raw materials of sodium-ion batteries are abundant, and the manufacturing cost is lower than that of lithium batteries. This is mainly due to the extremely abundant reserves of sodium resources, which ranks sixth in the content of elements in the earth’s crust. The average content in the earth’s crust is more than 400 times that of lithium resources. Electrolyte is a product that conducts and transports energy in sodium-ion batteries in China. It consists of electrolytic salt, solvent and additives. The combination of sodium salt and solvent must meet the requirements of high ionic conductivity, high electrochemical stability and chemical stability. , thermal stability and other characteristics. The sodium salt in the electrolyte solute of CATL’s sodium-ion battery uses sodium hexafluorophosphate, sodium perchlorate, etc. In terms of thermal stability, the decomposition temperature of sodium perchlorate reaches 472°C, which is higher than the 302°C of sodium hexafluorophosphate. At the same time, the mass loss of sodium hexafluorophosphate is smaller when it reaches 300°C, and the ionic conductivity of sodium hexafluorophosphate is The rate is higher. Relatively speaking, sodium hexafluorophosphate is more suitable as the electrolyte solute. According to information from Duofuo Company, some equipment for sodium-ion battery materials and lithium-ion battery materials can be shared, and the lithium hexafluorophosphate production line can be quickly switched to the sodium hexafluorophosphate production line. At present, the domestic sodium hexafluorophosphates mainly include Tianci Materials and Polyfluorophosphate.

Tianci Materials was established in 2000 and is the largest electrolyte supplier in the CATL era. At present, Tianci Materials has established a sodium-ion battery technology platform and product platform, and has the ability to mass produce sodium hexafluorophosphate.

Founded in December 1999, Duofludo is committed to the R&D and production of high-performance inorganic fluorides, electronic chemicals, lithium-ion batteries and related materials. It is the world leader in the lithium hexafluorophosphate industry. Currently, Dufluoro has been commercialized and mass-produced and can be used for sodium The electrolyte of ion batteries—sodium hexafluorophosphate, NaFSI has also completed research and development. It is expected that by the end of 2022, Duofuoduo will have a production capacity of 1,000 tons of sodium hexafluorophosphate.