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DOE OSTI · 1848508

Techno-economic analysis of cathode material production using flame-assisted spray pyrolysis

Zang, Guiyan·Zhang, Jianan·Xu, Siqi·Xing, Yangchuan
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Abstract

The cost of cathode materials contributes approximately 32.7% of the total cell construction cost of lithium-ion batteries, significantly affecting the price of battery packs. To reduce the cathode material manufacturing cost, a flame-assisted spray pyrolysis (FSP) method has been developed to utilize a sustainable solvent of glycerol to manufacture the LiNi 1/3 Mn 1/3 Co 1/3 O 2 (NMC333) cathode materials. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the minimum cathode material selling price (MCSP) of the FSP processes compared with a traditional carbonate co-precipitation pathway. Results show that the MCSP of the FSP is $\$$19.1/kg that is 17% lower than the traditional carbonate co-precipitation pathway as a result of lower fixed operating cost and variable overhead. Sensitivity analysis shows that when the new process is integrated with in-situ sintering and processing, the MCSP can be as low as $\$$15.6/kg. When all the material prices are decreased by 20%, the FSP process can synthesize NMC333 at a price of $\$$2.3/kg lower. According to the simulation result, LiNi 0·8 Mn 0·1 Co 0·1 O 2 (NMC811) has the best potential to meet the U.S. Department of Energy battery price target of $\$$125/kWh, demonstrating that the FSP process is an attractive manufacturing technology for NMC cathode powder material production.

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25 ENERGY STORAGE36 MATERIALS SCIENCECathode material productionEconomic analysisEnergy & FuelsFlame assisted spray pyrolysisLi-ion batteryNMC powderProduction rateThermodynamics

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Zang, Guiyan, Zhang, Jianan, Xu, Siqi, Xing, Yangchuan. 2020-12-05. Techno-economic analysis of cathode material production using flame-assisted spray pyrolysis. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2020.119504

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