Lithium Iron Phosphate Battery

The lithium iron phosphate battery, commonly called LFP, is a type of lithium-ion battery that uses lithium iron phosphate as its cathode material and a graphitic carbon anode, and contains neither cobalt nor nickel. LiFePO4 was identified as a viable cathode material in 1996 by a team led by John Goodenough and Akshaya Padhi, and the chemistry became commercially significant once particle-size reduction and carbon coating overcame its naturally low electrical conductivity. LFP cells run at a lower nominal voltage than other lithium-ion chemistries, around 3.2 volts, trading some energy density for much greater thermal and chemical stability, longer cycle life often exceeding several thousand cycles, and lower cost. Those properties have made LFP the dominant chemistry in stationary grid storage and increasingly common in standard-range electric vehicles from manufacturers including Tesla and BYD.