Innovative production of battery materials empowers China's new energy development

Guizhou Province in southwest China has focused its efforts on the research and development of battery materials to better support the boom of new energy industry in the country.

Lithium iron phosphate batteries are widely used in new energy vehicles and energy storage due to their long service life, safety, wide source of raw materials, and low price. 

Guizhou has rich phosphate resources and mature phosphorus chemical technology, and has supplied a large amount of iron phosphate, one of the most important raw materials for the production of lithium iron phosphate batteries, to battery manufacturers nationwide.

Founded in October 2022, the Guizhou New Energy Materials Innovation Center mainly focuses on the battery material industry chain. It has conducted research on core technologies and industrialization of research and development results.

Over the past few years, researchers here have tackled many challenges to optimize the flows of production process of critical chemicals required for the battery production. 

For example, a set of continuous reaction crystallization equipment for iron phosphate, which is independently developed by the researchers, can now make the crystal shape and morphology of the product controllable and adjustable.

The researchers tried to directly make lithium iron phosphate batteries by combining iron phosphate with lithium and carbon sources, and conducted performance tests.

"In terms of capacity, the current theoretical value of lithium iron phosphate is 170. Now we can achieve 160 on our product. So basically we can say we have reached 90 percent of its potential performance," said Peng Hainan, a research and development engineer at the center.

At present, this set of equipment has already been applied to the production line. This close combination of research and production has injected momentum into the development of NEV industry in Guizhou.

The average life of current NEV batteries is five to eight years, which means a large number of batteries will retire in the coming years. It is crucial that these batteries are properly recycled.

At the Guizhou New Energy Materials Innovation Center, researchers have developed a unique wet phosphoric acid purification technology to successfully recover all elements such as phosphorus, iron, and lithium from retired batteries.

"Our wet process mainly uses lithium iron phosphate black powder as a raw material. We need to first add in acid, such as sulfuric acid, nitric acid, and hydrochloric acid. Then we leach out the lithium and iron elements and filter them. After filtering, we got the lithium sulfate solution. We need to add sodium carbonate in for precipitation to get our final product, lithium carbonate," said Yu Xinxin, a researcher of the center.

With the application of this technology, the recycling rate of lithium carbonate can reach 93 percent or above, which also provides strong support for the sustainable development of the new energy industry.

Innovative production of battery materials empowers China's new energy development

A park director and a landscape architect in Sofia shared stories about how peonies have helped strengthen the cultural connection between China and Bulgaria.

In the fall of 2024, as China and Bulgaria marked 75 anniversary of their diplomatic ties, Heze City, known as the 'peony capital' of China, transplanted 280 peony plants to Sofia's South Park, the largest urban green space in the capital of Bulgaria, sharing this iconic Chinese cultural treasure with the Bulgarian public.

The park's Commemorative Peony Garden, created to celebrate 75 years of Sino-Bulgarian friendship, is now the new home to these Chinese flowers.

In a recent interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN) at the garden, park director Milena Vaseva reflected how the idea for the garden was proposed and brought to life.

"The garden with Chinese peonies became possible thanks to the wonderful initiative of the Chinese Embassy in Bulgaria on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Bulgaria and China, as well as thanks to the generous donation from Heze City, which provided 280 Chinese peonies specifically for our South Park," said Vaseva.

She also praised her Chinese colleagues who visited Sofia last year and collaborated with local staff to create the shared peony garden.

"What impressed me most in working with my colleagues from Heze was their professionalism and their excellent organization skills, their kindness, warm attitude, and generosity," said Vaseva.

For Vaseva, peonies serve as a cultural ambassador, symbolizing the blooming friendship between the two countries.

"The language of nature and beauty is universal. Creating a garden requires great care and dedication. So, we hope that through caring for this shared garden, it will become one of many reasons for continuing our fruitful cooperation. And, of course, for creating lasting and beautiful friendships between Heze and Sofia, as well as between Bulgaria and China, anyone who loves nature, beauty, and flowers is welcome here in May. We expect our park to be adorned with fragrant, beautiful peonies from China," she added.

Landscape architect Stavri Fotev also values the cultural ties fostered through flowers with the Chinese counterparts, and expressed hope that such connections will continue to grow in the future.

"We further enrich this area. Here, we have already planted herbaceous peony varieties, which are well-known in Bulgaria and have been used since ancient times. With the planting of the peony tree, which has also been used since ancient times in China, we are creating a connection between the Bulgarian peony on one side and the Chinese tree peony on the other side," he said.

"Thus, a continuous connection was established, which was very productive and beneficial between us and the Chinese specialists, and I believe that this fruitful cooperation will continue in the future," Fotev added.

Peonies bridge friendship between China, Bulgaria