Shares in lithium producer Lithium Australia NL [ASX:LIT] have jumped today thanks to the company’s development of the ‘safe’ lithium-ion battery.
At time of writing the LIT share price has climbed 7.02% to trade at 6.1 cents per share.
Source: Tradingview
LIT shares have looked to be gathering decent upwards momentum since the beginning of November, with the company climbing ~16% alone that month.
Lithium Australia’s better battery
LIT today announced its 100%-owned subsidiary VSPC Ltd has successfully produced lithium manganese ferro phosphate (LMFP) cathode powders that demonstrate improved performance.
VSPC have made significant progress towards improving the energy density of LFP lithium-ion battery (LIB) cells by adjusting its manufacturing processes to include manganese into the cathode during production.
If all that jargon went over your head, essentially LIT has managed to create a better LIB by including the element manganese.
LIT’s Managing Director Adrian Griffin explains:
‘VSPC has made great progress towards improving the production and sustainability of LIBs. Its patented technology has proved successful in the synthesis of high-energy-density LMFP battery cells, which are low-cost and retain the superior safety characteristics associated with LFP LIBs.
‘Indeed, LFP is currently increasing its share of the battery market, and commercialisation of VSPC’s LMFP will provide consumers with the best combination of safety, cost and energy density.’
So, what are the real-world applications for LIT’s safer battery?
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Currently, the types of LIBs most commonly used in electric vehicles are nickel-cobalt manganese (NCM) and nickel cobalt aluminium (NCA).
The downside to these types of battery technology is they are characterised by relatively low-strength chemical bonds.
Where LIT’s LFP and LMFP batteries differ is that they have exceptionally high bond strengths.
LIT claim that these physical properties result in superior traits like improved thermal stability and long service life.
Will we all be using LFP batteries?
We’ve discussed the future of LFP batteries at Money Morning before and how that relates to lithium stocks like LIT.
As it stands, LFP-type batteries don’t lend themselves to use in electric vehicles and are probably better suited to use in homes (where size and weight aren’t such a problem).
However, with LIT improving the energy density of LFP technology, perhaps that won’t be the case in the future.
Particularly with the improved thermal and service life properties.
It will be intriguing to see how the battery story develops in the coming years. If you’re on the hunt for stocks that could benefit from a looming boom in lithium technology, check out our free report. In it we reveal three stocks that could surge on the back of renewed demand for lithium. Click here to get your copy now.
Regards,
Lachlann Tierney
For Money Morning
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