Abstract: LGES will supply Renault's electric vehicle division, Ampere, with LFP pouch batteries with a total capacity of 39GWh for 590,000 electric vehicles.
Image source: LGES
On July 2, South Korean battery giant LGES announced that it had received its first large order for LFP (lithium iron phosphate) batteries for electric vehicles.
On July 1, local time, LGES and Renault's electric vehicle division Ampere held a meeting at Renault's headquarters in Paris, France, and have signed an agreement to supply French automaker Renault with lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries for electric vehicles.
From the end of 2025 to 2030, LGES will supply Renault's electric vehicle division, Ampere, with LFP pouch batteries with a total capacity of 39GWh, for 590,000 electric vehicles, LGES said.
The batteries will be produced at LGES' plant in Poland and will be installed in Renault's next-generation electric vehicle models.
According to foreign media reports, Ampere also announced on July 1 that it will incorporate lithium iron phosphate technology into its mass production plan, and together with suppliers LGES and CATL, it will provide Ampere with lithium iron phosphate batteries for a variety of models of the Renault and Alpine brands.
Ampere said it is also working with LGES to develop cell-to-pack technology. From 2026, the integration of lithium iron phosphate with module-less technology will reduce the cost of Ampere's automotive batteries by about 20%.
It is reported that the lithium iron phosphate market for electric vehicles has been dominated by Chinese companies for a long time. LGES is the first Korean battery company to sign a contract to supply lithium iron phosphate batteries for automobiles.
SK On, which is also a Korean battery maker, said earlier this year that it was in talks with a number of major traditional automakers or original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) who were seeking to reach LFP battery supply agreements.
South Korea's Samsung SDI also reported at the beginning of the year that it is considering using equipment provided by Chinese suppliers to build its lithium iron phosphate battery production line, which is expected to be purchased within this year and installed next year, and this production line is likely to be built in the Ulsan factory.
Lithium iron phosphate batteries have excellent price competitiveness and safety, and as the electric vehicle market expands, the demand for entry-level electric vehicles increases, and the demand for lithium iron phosphate batteries is also increasing.
The battery network has noticed that in overseas markets, more and more car companies have begun to embrace lithium iron phosphate batteries:
In early June, according to foreign media reports, ACC, a battery company jointly established by Mercedes-Benz and Stellantis, has stopped building battery factories in Germany and Italy, and is considering switching to lower-cost lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries to meet market demand.
On June 14, according to Cummins China, Cummins' zero-carbon emission business brand Accelera, Daimler Truck & Bus U.S. Holding Company and PACCAR announced the completion of the formation of a joint venture, and the new company will start building a 21GWh factory in Marshall County, Mississippi, USA, to produce differentiated lithium iron phosphate batteries, which are scheduled to start production in 2027.
In terms of the domestic market, data shows that in April this year, the loading capacity of lithium iron phosphate batteries in mainland China reached 25.5GWh, accounting for 71.9% of the total installed volume. This is the first time in 8 years, following 2016, the proportion of domestic lithium iron phosphate battery installed capacity has returned to 70% for the first time. And in May, the proportion of lithium iron phosphate battery loading in mainland China further increased to 74%, reaching 29.5GWh, a year-on-year increase of 54.1% and a month-on-month increase of 15.8%.
In addition, on June 5, according to data released by SNE Research, a South Korean research institution, the global registered battery loading of electric vehicles (EVs, PHEVs, HEVs) from January to April 2024 was about 216.2GWh, an increase of 21.8% over the same period last year.
Among them, from January to April, CATL continued to maintain the world's first position, with an installed capacity of 81.4GWh, a year-on-year increase of 30%, and a market share of 37.7%. BYD's sales remained stable, with a loading capacity of 33.2GWh, a year-on-year increase of 18.3%, and a market share of 15.4%, ranking second in the world. The remaining four Chinese companies on the list are China Innovation Airlines, EVE Lithium Energy, Guoxuan Hi-Tech and Xinwangda, with an installed capacity of 9.3GWh, 5GWh, 4.8GWh and 4.4GWh respectively, a year-on-year increase of 26.4%, 53.2%, 15.8% and 57.7% respectively, and a market share of 4.3%, 2.3%, 2.2% and 2.0% respectively.
From January to April, among the top 10 companies in the global power battery loading volume, the market share of the three major Korean battery companies was 22.8%, down 2.4 percentage points from the same period last year. Specifically, LGES ranked third, with an installed capacity of 28GWh, a year-on-year increase of 7.8%. Samsung SDI ranked fourth among the three Korean battery companies with the highest growth rate of 32.9% and 10.9GWh. SK On posted negative year-on-year growth, with a loading capacity of 10.3 GWh, down 2% year-on-year, ranking fifth.
In addition to SK On, Panasonic also experienced negative growth among the top 10 companies in the global power battery loading volume from January to April. Panasonic, as the only Japanese company to enter the top 10 global power battery loading volume, installed 10.2GWh from January to April, a negative growth of 29.5% compared with the same period last year.