Here are some of my notes on LiPF6. The intent was to understand the LiPF6 landscape, cost, margins, ROCE,
- Fluorine (HF) is ~50% of the raw material cost in LiPF6.
- Honeywell was world’s largest producer of HF.
Rising prices are intensifying cost pressures, as LiPF6 accounts for 40% of the cost of electrolytes, which in turn constitute 10% of the cost of batteries
TOP Manufactures in Lithium Hexafluorophosphate (LiPF6) Market are: –
- Tjanjin Jinniu
- Morita Chemical
- KantoDenka ( Japan – listed)
- Jiangsu Xintai
- Shida Shenghua
- Central Glass
- Foosung
- Do-Fluoride Chemicals ( 002407 CH)
- Guangzhou Tinci Materials ( Tinci is the world’s largest electrolyte supplier, with shipment of more than 10kt in 2021.)
- Stella Chemifa
- JiangSu Bicon
Notes:
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In a Li-ion battery electrolyte, LiPF6 offers high energy densities and considerable power densities. (from)
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For instance, in 2017, Japan based mostly Morita Chemical proclaimed its planning to build LiPF6 factory with 7500t/a in China. Also, in 2019, Hopax proclaimed its production of electrolyte solutions for lithium ion batteries progressing to strengthen its presence in battery electrolytes trade together with LiPF6
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- year 2021 – The price of lithium hexafluorophosphate (LiPF6) has also jumped from $17,320/ton at the beginning of the year to $88,200/ton in the first week of December, showing an increase of almost 400% in the period.
- This surge in LiPF6 prices is mainly due to the soaring price of lithium ore and limited local production. To combat the rising cost pressure, several battery companies in China have started considering rising their product prices. Recently, some market players in the first-tier battery companies have notified their contracted customers to re-negotiate prices or raise their quotations by up to 20% since the start of 2022.
- In mid-November, China’s Do-Fluoride New Materials entered into a strategic cooperation agreement with major domestic electric vehicle (EV) and power battery manufacturer BYD to supply lithium hexafluorophosphate (LiPF6) over the next four years. As per the deal, Do-Fluoride will supply around 56 KT of LiPF6 to BYD from January 2022 to December 2025.
source for the above
Great source for some price movements on latest pricing: https://www.chemanalyst.com/Pricing-data/lithium-hexafluorophosphate-1268
- for North Amercia – in march 2022, LiPF6 settled at USD 1350 per Kg during the quarter ending in March 2022 > **1,350,000 USD/ton **
- Asia Pacific: The FOB Qingdao discussions for Lithium Hexafluorophosphate were settled at USD 96,200 per tonne during the quarter ending March 2022
Production capacity of leading electrolyte manufacturers in Kiloton:
- Tinci (200kt)
- Guotai Huarong (60kt)
- Capchem (100kt)
- Saiwei (60kt?)
- Mitsubishi Chemical (50 kt?)
Guangzhou Tinci Materials Technology
The world’s largest electrolyte and lithium hexafluoro-phosphate (LiPF6) producer. Tinci is the largest electrolyte producer in China with c.30% electrolyte market share in China as of 9M20, based on shipment amount
Products: Electrolyte, electrolyte salts (LiPF6 & LiFSI), additives (VC & DTD), FePo4.
- Tinci will also witness in-house capacity of LiPF6 (c.30-50% of electrolyte cost), growing from 12ktpa now to 32ktpa in 2022E (( from an old 2021 document could gather this, so we can assume they have 30ktpa capacity now)
- Their LIB segment has a ~30% Gross margins
3.The manufacturing of electrolyte is considered “easy” with a short construction period of 6- 12 months, according to the company. According to Mr. Han Heng, Board Secretary of Tinci, making electrolyte is as simple as making Coca-Cola, which simply involves mixing flavorings and sugar with carbonated water. Similarly, electrolyte production consists of mixing and canning 3 major ingredients; namely lithium salt (mainly LiPF6 which accounts for c.40% of electrolyte production cost), solvent (c.30% of cost) and additives (c.10% of cost) while other costs, like labor and manufacturing account for less than 20% of total production cost.
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a. The entry barriers to manufacturing electrolytes are therefore not in the production itself, but in the sourcing of raw materials. We see the ability to source raw materials as Tinci’s core competitiveness and the reason it has secured the top spot in global electrolyte market share, given its vertically integrated business model. To put this into perspective, Tinci is also the largest LiPF6 producer in the world with capacity of 12ktpa by end-2020 and production of 7.8ktpa in 2020 as per our forecast, as well as construction in progress for solvent and additives capacity
Kanto Denko
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One of the essential materials for this lithium-ion secondary battery is the electrolyte “lithium hexafluorophosphate (LiPF 6 )”. Kanto Denka Kogyo will continue to contribute to society as a manufacturer of lithium hexafluorophosphate (production began in 1997) with world-class quality and supply capabilities.
Do-Fluoride
Do-Fluoride will supply no less than 56,050 tonnes of LiPF6 to BYD from January 2022 to December 2025. (link, 17th Nov 2021) BYD signed another purchase agreement with Do-Fluoride in July (2021) for no less than 6,460t of LiPF6.
- Other BYD purchases:
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- It has also secured supplies of 7,870t during 2021-23 from Yan’an Bicon Pharmaceutical’s subsidiary Jiangsu Jiujiujiu Technology and
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- China’s largest battery manufacturer CATL in May signed a purchase deal with Ningde Kaixin Battery Material for 15,000t of LiPF6 from May 2021 to June 2022.
Do-Fluoride has developed a technology to produce LiPF6 using industrial- grade lithium carbonate, anhydrous hydrogen fluoride and phosphorus trichloride as feedstocks. It unveiled a plan in July to build a new production facility with 100,000 t/yr of capacity for LiPF6 in Jiaozuo city in central China’s Henan province. The project will be developed in three phases and start production by the end of 2025.
Jiangsu Xintai
- BYD agreement 7,100-11,300 Tonnes during 2021-23 from Jiangsu Xintai Material.
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