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

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 LiNi1/3Mn1/3Co1/3O2 (NMC333) cathode materials. The objective 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, LiNi0·8Mn0·1Co0·1O2 (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.