Lithium iron phosphate battery
Type of rechargeable battery without cobalt
- 7 min read
- 4 chapters
Related on Lably
Through Emergency power system, Tesla Model 3 and Voltage
In 2022, Chinese manufacturers held a near-monopoly of LFP battery type production. With patents having started to expire in 2022 and the increased demand for cheaper EV batteries, LFP type production is expected to rise further and surpass lithium nickel manganese cobalt oxides (NMC) type batteries.
The specific energy of LFP batteries is lower than that of other common lithium-ion battery types such as nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) and nickel cobalt aluminum (NCA). As of 2024, the specific energy of CATL's LFP battery is claimed to be 205 watt-hours per kilogram (Wh/kg) on the cell level. BYD's LFP battery specific energy is 150 Wh/kg. The best NMC batteries exhibit specific energy values of over 300 Wh/kg. Notably, the specific energy of Panasonic's "2170" NCA batteries used in Tesla's 2020 Model 3 mid-size sedan is around 260 Wh/kg, which is 70% of its "pure chemicals" value. LFP batteries also have a lower operating voltage than other lithium-ion battery types.
Specifications
- Cell voltage
- Minimum discharge voltage = 2.0–2.8 V
- Working voltage = 3.0 ~ 3.3 V
- Max viable voltage = 2.5 ~ 3.47 V
- Maximum charge voltage = 3.60–3.65 V
- Gravimetric energy density = 95–172 W⋅h/kg (340–620 kJ/kg). The latest version announced at the end of 2023, early 2024 made significant improvements in energy density from 180 up to 205 Wh/kg without increasing production costs.
- Volumetric energy density = 227–396 W⋅h/L (820–1,430 kJ/L)
- Cycle life from 2,500 to more than 9,000 cycles depending on conditions. Next generation high-energy density versions have increased charging lifecycles, probably around 15,000 maximum cycles.
Sign in to keep reading
3 more chapters are free with a Lably account.
Comparison with other battery types
LFP batteries use a lithium-ion-derived chemistry and share many of the advantages and disadvantages of other lithium-ion chemistries. However, there are significant differences.
Resource availability
Iron and phosphates are very common in the Earth's crust. LFP contains neither nickel nor cobalt, both of which are supply-constrained and expensive. As with lithium, human rights and environmental concerns have been raised concerning the use of cobalt. Environmental concerns have also been raised regarding the extraction of nickel.
Cost
A 2020 report published by the Department of Energy compared the costs of large-scale energy storage systems built with LFP vs NMC. It found that the price per kWh of LFP batteries was about 6% lower than that of NMC batteries, and it projected that LFP cells would last about 67% longer (i.e., more cycles). Because of differences between the cell's characteristics, the cost of some other components of the storage system would be somewhat higher for LFP, but on balance it remains less costly per kWh than NMC.
In 2020, the lowest reported LFP cell prices were $80/kWh (12.5 Wh/$) with an average price of $137/kWh, while in 2023 the average price had dropped to $100/kWh. By early 2024, VDA-sized LFP cells were available for less than RMB 0.5/Wh ($70/kWh), while Chinese automaker Leapmotor stated it buys LFP cells at RMB 0.4/Wh ($56/kWh) and believe they could drop to RMB 0.32/Wh ($44/kWh). By mid 2024, assembled LFP batteries were available to consumers in the US for around $115/kWh.
Better aging and cycle-life characteristics
LFP chemistry offers a considerably longer cycle life than other lithium-ion chemistries. Under most conditions, it supports more than 3,000 cycles; under optimal conditions, more than 10,000 cycles. NMC batteries support about 1,000 to 2,300 cycles, depending on conditions.
LFP cells experience a slower rate of capacity loss (a.k.a. greater calendar-life) than lithium-ion battery chemistries such as cobalt (LiCoO
2), manganese spinel (LiMn
2O
4), lithium-ion polymer batteries (LiPo battery) or lithium-ion batteries.
Viable alternative to lead-acid batteries
Because of the nominal 3.2 V output, four cells can be connected in series for a nominal 12.8 V. This comes close to the nominal voltage of a six-cell lead-acid batteries. Along with the good safety characteristics of LFP batteries, this makes LFP a good potential replacement for lead-acid batteries in applications such as automotive and solar applications, provided the charging systems are adapted not to damage the LFP cells through excessive charging voltages (beyond 3.6 volts DC per cell while under charge), temperature-based voltage compensation, equalisation attempts or continuous trickle charging. The LFP cells must be at least balanced initially before the pack is assembled and a protection system also needs to be implemented to ensure no cell can be discharged below a voltage of 2.5 V or severe damage will occur in most instances, due to irreversible deintercalation of LiFePO4 into FePO4.
Safety
One important advantage of LiFePO
4 over other lithium-ion chemistries is thermal and chemical stability, which contributes to improved battery safety. Especially compared to layered oxide cathode materials such as lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO
2) and NMC, which release oxygen upon heating, LFP generally has higher decomposition temperatures.
There is a significant safety property to LFP batteries; in a stable active condition the chemical composition does not combust when exposed to normal ambient air, it is less prone to causing a fire and considered incombustible, with good overall thermal and chemical stability. However, LFP batteries can unfortunately still catch fire under extreme conditions similar to many other types of batteries, from causes such as overcharging issues, very high thermal temperatures, or catastrophic physical damage.
Lower energy density
The energy density (energy/volume) of a new LFP battery as of 2008 was about 14% lower than that of a new LiCoO
2 battery. Since discharge rate is a percentage of battery capacity, a higher rate can be achieved by using a larger battery (more ampere hours) if low-current batteries must be used.
Uses
Stationary storage
LFP batteries are common in stationary storage systems due to advantages in cost, safety and cycle life. In 2025, LFP batteries held an approximate 85% of the stationary storage market share. In static applications, the lower energy density of LFP compared to other lithium ion chemistries is a less of a disadvantage.
Electric vehicles
LFP batteries are used in many electric vehicles due to their cost, thermal stability and longevity. However, higher end vehicles typically use NMC chemistries due to their higher performance. In 2025, the GWh market share for LFP batteries in passenger cars and light vehicles was 79% in China, 13% in Europe, 5% in North America and 57% in the rest of the world.
In September 2022, LFP batteries had a 31% market share of the EV battery market. Of that share, 68% was deployed by two companies, Tesla and BYD.
Examples
- Chevrolet used a 21.3 kWh LFP battery in the 2014 model year Spark EV. The battery cells were manufactured by A123 Systems.
- Renault uses a 27.5 kWh LFP battery in the electric-only fourth generation Twingo, sold from 2026.
- Tesla Motors uses LFP batteries in all standard-range Models 3 and Y made after October 2021 except for standard-range vehicles made with 4680 cells starting in 2022, which use an NMC chemistry.
Other uses
Some electronic cigarettes use these types of batteries. Other applications include marine electrical systems and propulsion, flashlights, radio-controlled models, portable motor-driven equipment, amateur radio equipment, industrial sensor systems and emergency lighting.
History
LiFePO
4 is a natural mineral known as triphylite. Arumugam Manthiram and John B. Goodenough first identified the polyanion class of cathode materials for lithium ion batteries. LiFePO
4 was then identified as a cathode material belonging to the polyanion class for use in batteries in 1996 by Padhi et al. Reversible extraction of lithium from LiFePO
4 and insertion of lithium into FePO
4 was demonstrated. Because of its low cost, non-toxicity, the natural abundance of iron, its excellent thermal stability, safety characteristics, electrochemical performance, and specific capacity (170 mA·h/g, or 610 C/g) it has gained considerable market acceptance.
The main obstacle to commercialization was its intrinsically low electrical conductivity. This problem was overcome by reducing the particle size, coating the LiFePO
4 particles with conductive materials such as carbon nanotubes, or both. Michel Armand and his coworkers at Hydro-Québec and the Université de Montréal developed this approach in 2015. Another approach by Yet Ming Chiang's group at MIT consisted of doping LFP with cations of materials such as aluminium, niobium, and zirconium.
Negative electrodes (anode, on discharge) made of petroleum coke were used in early lithium-ion batteries; later types used natural or synthetic graphite.