Difficulties in the development of lithium titanate AAA Ni-MH batteries technology and future development direction

　　1. Reasons for developing lithium titanate battery technology in China

　　Lithium titanate battery technology should have the advantages of time, place and people in the competition among various energy storage batteries in my country. In terms of service life alone, the ultra-long cycle life of lithium titanate batteries is far better than that of various lead-acid batteries; its efficiency, cost and electrochemical performance are even better than those of sodium sulfur and liquid flow vanadium battery systems.

　　The main market for lithium battery products over the years has been portable appliances such as mobile phones and laptops. Although the consumption of mobile phones and laptops in China is large, most of them are not domestic brands. Therefore, domestic lithium battery manufacturers are inferior to Japanese and Korean products in lithium battery sales in portable appliances.

　　However, the applicable market for lithium titanate technology is hybrid electric vehicles, special industrial applications and energy storage applications such as frequency modulation and grid voltage support. These markets are still in their infancy worldwide, and it is still unknown who will take the lead. Lithium titanate technology is expected to become a leader in these markets.

　　China's population base accounts for about 1/5 of the world's population. Due to its large population, China's electric vehicle, energy storage and industrial application market is a huge market coveted by multinational companies in many countries. In recent years, the Chinese government has attached great importance to the development of electric vehicles and energy storage industries, and various national incentive policies have been introduced. China's lithium titanate battery systems have accumulated commercial application data for several years in hybrid electric buses in Chongqing and Europe, wind and solar storage demonstration stations in Zhangbei, and Shenzhen Baoqing energy storage power stations.

　　In addition, the upstream and downstream of my country's lithium battery industry chain have long been established. In addition to the complete battery material supply and equipment manufacturing capabilities, the production capacity of lithium battery products is also divided into three parts with Japan and South Korea. This makes my country's lithium battery manufacturers have the innate conditions to transform from traditional lithium battery production to lithium titanate battery product production.

　　my country has long had companies such as Sichuan Xingneng, Zhuhai Yinlong, and Huzhou Weihong that are both powerful and experienced in the production of lithium titanate materials. Representative companies that stand out in the production of lithium titanate batteries include Huzhou Weihong, Zhuhai Yinlong, Shenzhen Bolei Da, Tianjin Jiewei, etc.

　　These companies have initially established their own sales channels in the domestic and foreign electric vehicle and energy storage markets. It is particularly worth pointing out that Shenzhen BoLeDa has a series of proprietary technologies and intellectual property rights from material production to battery manufacturing and system integration. At present, it is still a rare manufacturer with independent intellectual property rights in the Chinese lithium battery industry.

　　2. Bottlenecks in the production of lithium titanate materials, batteries and battery packs

　　Since lithium titanate battery technology has many advantages that other lithium batteries cannot match, why has it been rarely used in the Chinese energy industry and even the world's energy field so far? There are three reasons:

　　① Lithium titanate material production The production of lithium titanate materials is not complicated in principle. However, to be used as the negative electrode material of lithium-ion batteries, it is not only necessary to pay attention to the material having a suitable specific surface area, particle size, density and electrochemical properties, but also must be able to adapt to the production process of large-scale lithium batteries. One of the reasons why lithium titanate materials cannot be produced normally on many traditional lithium battery production lines is that the pH of the material is 11 or 12, and it is extremely hygroscopic.

　　② Lithium titanate battery production In fact, it is not as simple as just replacing graphite with lithium titanate materials to directly use conventional lithium-AAA Ni-MH batteries production lines to produce lithium titanate battery products. Because the humidity requirements of lithium titanate materials are much higher than those of conventional lithium-AAA Ni-MH batteries production. In order to control humidity, some preparation processes need to be adjusted accordingly to adapt to the special requirements of lithium titanate battery product production. In addition, some production equipment also needs to be improved accordingly. If conditions permit, it is best to redesign a compact, small, and fully enclosed automated production line specifically for lithium titanate battery products.

　　③Lithium titanate battery packs are different from conventional lithium-ion batteries. At present, lithium titanate batteries produced at home and abroad often have trace amounts of gas generated in soft-packed single cells after being put into use for a period of time. These gases are different from the gases generated when fresh batteries are formed. The former can be removed through the battery production process. But the latter is generated during the use of the battery, or it is difficult to avoid under current process conditions.

　　The author believes that studying the chemical reaction mechanism of gas generation during circulation should be a good scientific research topic. In addition, one of the advantages of lithium titanate battery technology is its high power performance. Although the battery itself can withstand high current charging and discharging, thick single cells are still not suitable for high-power applications because the battery is too thick, which will cause the heat generated by the high current to be difficult to dissipate. Therefore, for high-power lithium titanate batteries, a large and thin soft-pack battery structure is still a reasonable choice.

　　3. Future development direction of lithium titanate technology

　　Finally, it is necessary to summarize the advantages and disadvantages of lithium titanate materials as lithium battery negative electrodes. Advantages: ultra-high safety, ultra-long life, wide high and low temperature working range, high power, low cost and green environmental protection. Disadvantages: lithium titanate materials have low energy density and strong water absorption. The environment requirements for battery production are high, the production process needs to be updated accordingly, the new process requires investment in necessary equipment and higher requirements for humidity control, and the application market of lithium titanate batteries has not yet been fully opened.

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