Battery technology prevalent in China is making inroads in the US electric-vehicle market, with manufacturers looking past poorer energy storage characteristics to embrace its cheaper cost and safety.
Lithium iron phosphate technology accounted for about half of the battery capacity of EVs sold in China last year, according to research from consultancy Adamas Intelligence. In the US the technology represented only 9 per cent of capacity in 2022, up from zero the year before.
The US share is about to change, however. This month a start-up named Our Next Energy will begin making lithium iron phosphate, or LFP, batteries in Michigan, expanding next year after opening a new $1.6bn plant. By 2027 ONE intends to supply enough LFP batteries for 200,000 EVs.