Copper foil is the key cathode material of lithium battery, which has an important impact on the performance such as battery energy density, accounting for about 5% - 8% of the cost of lithium battery. Under the background of improving quality and reducing cost in the current battery industry, ultra-thin and high-end are the key words of its technical development and market demand.

Chaohua technology recently said on the interactive platform that the company's current revenue from copper foil and copper clad laminate has accounted for nearly 70%. The company has an annual production capacity of 12000 tons of copper foil, mainly electronic circuit copper foil. At present, copper foil is basically in full production status;The second phase of the high-precision electronic copper foil project with an annual output of 8000 tons is expected to be put into operation within the year. After being put into operation, the company's total annual copper foil production capacity will exceed 20000 tons.Based on the future demand growth of new energy vehicles, especially high-end vehicles, the company plans to arrange half of the new capacity of copper foil to produce lithium battery copper foil.

Another copper foil giant, foihua electronics, has also made a move recently. It is reported that the company's phase I production workshop of the 10000 ton high-performance lithium battery copper foil project is under construction. The high-performance lithium battery cathode material project covers an area of 72 mu, with a construction area of 35000 square meters and a total investment of 1.117 billion yuan. According to the plan of foihua electronics, the company plans toIn 2023, the output value will be 1.5 billion yuan, and the high-end copper foil production capacity will be 12500 tons.

Foihua electronics said that with the rapid development of the new energy vehicle industry and the accelerated promotion of 5g, the market demand for high-performance copper foil has increased in recent years. The company hopes to occupy a position in the high-end copper foil industry and enhance the international competitiveness of the industry by manufacturing thinner and better performance copper foil.

It is understood that copper foil can be divided into extremely thin copper foil (≤ 6) according to the thickness μ m) Ultra thin copper foil (6-12 μ m) Thin copper foil (12-18 μ m) Conventional copper foil (18-70 μ m) And thick copper foil (> 70 μ m）。 The thickness of lithium battery copper foil as the collector of lithium battery is generally ≤ 20 μ m. At present, the thickness of copper foil of power battery equipped with new energy vehicles is 8~12 μ m. The weight of copper foil of the whole vehicle is more than 10kg.

From a technical point of view, thinner lithium copper foil means less resistance, so the energy density and other performance of the battery will also be improved. Moreover, the smaller the thickness of lithium battery copper foil, the lighter the weight of the corresponding battery, which can effectively reduce the cost of copper foil raw materials. Therefore, it is a general trend to use thinner lithium copper foil in the future.

From the perspective of market application, the current domestic lithium battery copper foil is 8 μ M. in recent years, in order to improve the energy density of the battery, 6 with thinner and better performance μ M copper foil has become the focus of the layout of domestic mainstream lithium battery copper foil manufacturers. Relative to 8 μ M copper foil, 6 μ M copper foil has high technical requirements, so there are not many domestic enterprises that can mass produce it at present.

Chaohua technology said that the company is one of the few domestic enterprises with a production capacity of more than 10000 tons of high-precision copper foil. At present, it has the mass production capacity of the highest precision 6um lithium battery copper foil.In addition, Anhui Tongguan also said that the company has solved 6 μ M copper foil winding problem, and cooperate with Central South University to develop the tension control system. Through the production practice demonstration, the tension stability of the green foil machine is significantly improved, 6 μ M the times of edge tearing are also significantly reduced.

Jiayuan technology is one of the few leading enterprises in China that has mastered the production capacity of ultra-thin lithium battery copper foil. It has just been listed on the science and technology innovation board this year. Jiayuan technology believes that 6% of higher added value in the future μ M lithium copper foil will gradually become the mainstream. Company 6 μ The output of M products is accelerated, and the upgrading of product structure will ensure the sustainable profitability of the company in the future.

As the leader of copper foil, Nord is the first energy producer in China μ M is one of the enterprises of copper foil, which produces 6 μ M high tensile copper foil has the quality to compete with similar products of enterprises in Japan and South Korea. At present, 40% - 50% of lithium battery copper foil shipped by Nord is 6 μ M products,five μ m、4 μ M copper foil has also been successfully trial produced.

Tongguan Youchuang said in September 2019 that the company has a capacity of 40000 tons of copper foil, including 22500 tons of standard foil and 17500 tons of lithium battery copper foil. 6 μ m、7 μ M lithium battery foil has achieved mass production, and is currently promoting the research and development of high-end copper strip and 5g copper foil products, which is expected to become a new performance growth point in the future.

It is worth mentioning that in July this year, the 4.5 μ M high precision ultra-thin copper foil officially entered mass production, with a coil length of more than 15000 meters, 4.5 μ After being tested by domestic well-known enterprises, m copper foil products are relatively satisfied with the performance of the products, and the key indicators such as tensile strength and elongation have reached the first-class level in the industry.

Data show that in 2018, the global market demand for electronic copper foil was 683000 tons, while the domestic market demand for electronic copper foil reached 474300 tons, of which the demand for lithium battery copper foil increased by 55.8%, benefiting from the rapid development of downstream industries such as 5g, new energy vehicles, automotive electronics, etc., and the demand for copper foil will continue to increase in the future. Some industry organizations predict that the global demand for lithium copper foil for electric vehicles alone will reach 600000 tons in 2025 and 900000 tons in 2030.

However, although the market prospect is very broad, the competition in the lithium battery copper foil market has become increasingly fierce in recent years. As a senior person in the industry said, "in the past, there were more than 10 domestic manufacturers of lithium battery copper foil, which has doubled to more than 30 by 2018, and many cross-border enterprises have entered the industry."

Moreover, the copper foil industry is also facing the problem of structural overcapacity. Due to the production technology constraints of China's copper foil production enterprises and the technological monopoly of overseas enterprises, China's general copper foil production is surplus at present, butHigh grade electrolytic copper foil relies heavily on imports, especially high-grade ultra-thin electrolytic copper foil, high-performance electrolytic copper foil and other products.

Previously, some professionals analyzed that in June 2019 μ The demand for M copper foil will more than double that of 2018, while domestic 6 μ The production capacity of M copper foil is far from meeting this market demand. From the current situation, domestic enterprises also need to accelerate technological progress and increase the production capacity of high-end ultra-thin copper foil as soon as possible to fill the demand gap.

Article source:Battery China Network