With multiple factors continuing to be favorable, the lithium bisfluorosulfonyl imide (LiFSI) industry has huge development potential.
Lithium bisfluorosulfonyl imide (LiFSI) is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula HN (SO2F) 2. It appears as a colorless liquid with a melting point of 17°C, a boiling point of 170°C, and a density of 1.892g/mL. Lithium bisfluorosulfonimide is a new type of lithium salt with excellent performance. It has the advantages of high heat resistance, stable electrochemical performance, good hydrolysis resistance, wide operating temperature range, good conductivity, and high energy density. It is mainly used as Additives are used in electrolyte manufacturing scenarios.
According to “China’s lithium bisfluorosulfonimide (LiFSI) industry application market demand and development opportunities from 2023 to 2028″ released by the Industrial Research Center Research Report” shows that the upstream of the lithium bisfluorosulfonimide industry chain is raw material suppliers. The main materials include sulfoxide chloride, dimethyl carbonate, hydrofluoric acid, acetonitrile, and fluorosulfonic acid. , methylene chloride, etc.; the midstream is a manufacturer of lithium bisfluorosulfonyl imide. The main companies include Tianci Materials, Times Sikang, Kangpeng Technology, Duofuoduo, Rukun New Materials, Lizhong Group, Xinzhoubang, and Yongpeng Technology. Taipei Technology, etc.; the downstream is the application field, mainly in the lithium battery manufacturing field.
From the upstream of the industrial chain, in terms of raw materials, taking sulfoxide chloride and dimethyl carbonate as examples, domestic production capacity of sulfoxide chloride has reached 520,000 tons/year and dimethyl carbonate production capacity has reached 1.63 million tons/year in 2022. In 2018, the sufficient supply of upstream raw materials laid a good foundation for the development of the domestic lithium bisfluorosulfonimide industry; in terms of technology, the current domestic production methods of lithium bisfluorosulfonimide include the chlorosulfonic acid method (three-step method) and the sulfuryl There are two types of fluorine method (two-step method). Among them, the three-step method is the mainstream production process in the market. It has the advantages of low production difficulty, safety and easy control, and the disadvantage of high production cost. Therefore, in the future, domestic technology will need to be continuously upgraded to reduce product costs and increase The efficiency space is huge.
From the midstream of the industrial chain, lithium bisfluorosulfonyl imide is a technology-intensive industry with high industry entry barriers. At present, the domestic and global markets are mainly dominated by three local companies, Tianci Materials, Kangpeng Technology and Duofuoduo. The industry is highly concentrated and has a high level of localization.
From the downstream of the industrial chain, lithium bisfluorosulfonyl imide, as a new type of lithium salt, is mainly used in lithium battery electrolyte manufacturing scenarios. Compared with the inorganic lithium salt lithium hexafluorophosphate (LiPF6) that currently dominates the market, lithium bisfluorosulfonyl imide overcomes the problems of unstable chemical properties and poor temperature resistance, and has stronger comprehensive performance. It is expected to become a lithium battery in the future. The lithium salt market for electrolytes is the mainstream.
Industry analysts said that currently driven by the rapid development of the domestic new energy vehicle industry, lithium battery shipments The volume continues to rise, driving the demand for electrolyte to continue to increase. As one of the important raw materials required for electrolyte, lithium bisfluorosulfonimide has a rising market demand. In 2022, my country’s electrolyte market shipments will reach 1.084 million tons, a year-on-year increase of 78.8%. Against this background, my country’s lithium bisfluorosulfonimide market size in 2022 will be approximately 2.79 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 71.4%. In the future, with the continued favorable factors such as the continuous increase in raw material production capacity, the continuous upgrading of production processes, the continuous improvement of localization levels, and the continuous rise in demand, the development space of the domestic lithium bisfluorosulfonyl imide industry will continue to expand.