The environmental protection of Lifepo4 batteries is due to their non-toxic material and high recyclability. The cathode material of Lifepo4 batteries does not contain heavy metals such as cobalt and nickel (lead-acid batteries contain over 60% lead), and carbon emission intensity during production is 28kg CO₂/kWh, 59% lower than that of ternary lithium batteries (68kg CO₂/kWh). According to UL 1973 certification, the recovery rate of lifepo4 can reach 98% (95% for lead-acid), and the recycled materials can be used for producing new batteries, with a recycling rate 43% higher than lead-acid. CATL statistics show that for every ton of end-of-life lifepo4 batteries, 0.82 tons of lithium iron phosphate (worth 4,500) can be extracted, while recycling of lead-acid batteries can only provide 120 yuan a ton.
In the cost-efficiency aspect, lifepo4’s 4,000 cycles (DoD 90%) life reduces its lifetime cost of electricity per kilowatt-hour (LCOE) to as little as 0.08/kWh, 63.6% cost savings compared to lead-acid batteries (0.22/kWh). For example, a 10kWh household energy storage system, lifepo4 has an initial cost of 3,000 (1,800 for lead-acid), but the 10-year operation and maintenance cost is only 150 (1,200 for lead-acid), which reduces the total holding cost by 38%. Tesla Powerwall customer statistics show that the payback time of the photovoltaic storage system with lifepo4 has been shortened from 7 years to 4.5 years (under the subsidy policy in Germany), and the annual electric bill has been saved by $620.
In actual application, the 8-year operation data of BYD’s lifepo4 blade battery in Shenzhen electric buses show that the capacity fading rate of the battery pack is only 0.8% per year (4.5% per year for lead-acid batteries), reducing maintenance battery replacements 2.3 times throughout the vehicle’s life cycle and saving $18,000 per vehicle. After the Shore Power System of ships in the Port of Bergen in Norway adopted lifepo4, the operation life of diesel generators was reduced by 73%, and nitrogen oxide emissions were reduced by 12 tons per year. In 2023, the EU’s “New Battery Regulation” stipulates that power batteries must have a carbon footprint of 50kg CO₂/kWh or less. However, lifepo4’s 28kg CO₂/kWh has led to its market share increasing by 23% year on year.
Technology innovation keeps gaining advantages. CTP (modueless) technology of lifepo4 has improved volumetric energy density to 325Wh/L (70Wh/L for lead-acid), 62% less weight under the same capacity. The “honeycomb” structure design of Ruipu Energy reduces the expansion force of the electrode sheet from 30MPa to 8MPa and optimizes the standard deviation of the cycle life from ±12% to ±3.5%. In the Australian desert photovoltaic storage project, the daily average efficiency of lifepo4 batteries at 50℃ was 94.2% (58% for lead-acid batteries), and the operation and maintenance robot inspection frequency was reduced from twice a day to once a week, with labor costs cut by 85%.
Policy popularization, in China’s new energy storage scheme for 2025, lifepo4’s market share will be 70%, and its residual value rate of secondary utilization (≥35%) is six times that of lead-acid (5%). The IRA Act in the United States gives a 30% tax credit to lifepo4 energy storage projects. Calculations on a 100MWh project in California show that the overall life cycle return (IRR) has increased from 8.2% to 14.7%. The global decline in lithium prices (lithium carbonate from 80,000/ ton to 12,000/ ton) has reduced the cost of lifepo4 cells by 41%. The average market price had increased above 90/kWh (150/kWh for lead-acid) by 2024, increasing the price advantage to 40%.