China’s lithium bisfluorosulfonimide (LiFSI) market development status and analysis of key companies in 2023

Bisfluorosulfonimide lithium salt (abbreviation: LiFSI, CAS number: 171611-11-3) is a lithium salt formed by combining the anion of the organic acid bisfluorosulfonimide with lithium ions. It is a kind of lithium salt with good electrochemical stability. Lithium salts with good properties, hydrolysis resistance, high conductivity and high and low temperature discharge properties can be used as electrolyte solutes in lithium-ion batteries. Lithium-ion batteries are mainly composed of positive electrode materials, negative electrode materials, and electrolyte solutions. The electrolyte solution is composed of solvents, solute lithium salts, additives, etc., which have an impact on the battery’s storage capacity, charge and discharge rate, cycle life, safety performance, etc.

Lithium hexafluorophosphate is currently the most widely used lithium salt for lithium batteries in industrial applications, but it has problems such as poor thermal stability and easy hydrolysis. With the development of technology and the expansion of lithium battery application fields, higher requirements have been placed on the performance of lithium batteries. The conductivity, thermal stability and thermodynamic stability of lithium bisfluorosulfonyl imide (LiFSI) are better than those of lithium hexafluorophosphate , in line with the development trend of electrolytes.

Lithium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (LiFSI) was first successfully synthesized in 1984. In 1990, 3M Company commercialized lithium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide, but due to its strong corrosion to aluminum flakes Due to its nature, it cannot be used in lithium batteries. In recent years, with the advancement of technology, the production cost of lithium bisfluorosulfonyl imide (LiFSI) has been reduced, and many companies have accelerated their layout and entered the industrialization stage.

“2023-2028 China Lithium Bisfluorosulfonimide (LiFSI) Industry Market In-depth Research and Development Prospects Forecast Report compiled and released by the Industrial Research Center》shows that at present, foreign manufacturers of lithium bisfluorosulfonimide (LiFSI) mainly include Nippon Shokubai, South Korea’s Tempo, etc.; domestic manufacturers of lithium bisfluorosulfonimide (LiFSI) mainly include Tianci Materials, Duofuoduo, Yongtai Technology, Times Sikang, etc. Guangzhou Tianci High-tech Materials Co., Ltd. is a listed company whose main business is lithium-ion battery materials, daily chemical materials and specialty chemicals. Its production capacity of lithium bisfluorosulfonyl imide exceeds 20,000 tons. Polyfluoro products involve the production and research and development of high-performance inorganic fluorides, electronic chemicals, lithium-ion batteries and related materials. The production capacity of lithium bisfluorosulfonimide exceeds 1,000 tons. Times Sikang is a company under CATL, which mainly produces fluorine-containing lithium battery additives and related new materials. Construction of the 50,000-ton bisfluorosulfonimide lithium dazzling plant will start in 2021.

Lithium bisfluorosulfonimide (LiFSI) is mainly used in the field of lithium-ion batteries. According to different application fields, it can be divided into power batteries, energy storage batteries and digital batteries. In recent years, the rapid development of China’s new energy vehicles and energy storage industries has driven the continued rapid growth of lithium-ion battery shipments, and the continued rapid growth of electrolyte shipments. As a new type of electrolyte lithium salt, the market demand for lithium bisfluorosulfonimide (LiFSI) will develop rapidly in the next few years, and the industry has good development prospects.