Stella joins with CATL on lithium iron phosphate (LFP) plant

Stellantis and CATL are building a new lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery plant in Spain, aiming at production at the end of 2026. The joint venture project is designed to be carbon-neutral, and to have a capacity of 50 GWh of battery-making per year for compact and midsized vehicles in Europe.

The memorandum of understanding leading to the plant was signed back in November 2023.  CATL, a Chinese energy company, already has two plants in Europe, in Germany and Hungary; its acronym stands for Contemporary Amperex Technology Co, Limited.

Stellantis will be using two different battery technologies while awaiting a third, solid-state solution. These are lithium-ion nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) and lithium iron phosphate (LFP). NMC batteries are mainly nickel, with some manganese and cobalt, while LFP batteries are roughly even for iron and phosphorus. They are relatively similar in cost, energy, and performance; LFP tends to have a long lifespan, lower risk of fire, and greater energy by weight but lower energy density by volume. In short, LFP batteries are generally superior but take up considerably more space.

LFP batteries have a much more stable structure, preventing thermal runaway, overheating, fires, stress, and abuse; and they last for around a third more charge-discharge cycles. They are also somewhat cheaper, and much better for, say, utility backup, where size is less important.