China Pulls Subsidies From Samsung and LG

The Chinese government has pulled their subsidies from Samsung and LG’s China factories this week in regards to electric vehicles.

These government subsidiaries account for up to 40 percent of the price of an electric vehicle in China. The cuts specifically affect electric busses not using lithium-iron-phosphate (LiFePO4) chemistries – a chemistry that neither Samsung nor LG uses much of. Electric busses make up roughly 50 percent of the electric vehicle market.

LiFePO4 batteries are a type of rechargeable battery based on the original lithium ion chemistry, created by the use of Iron (Fe) as a cathode material. LiFePO4 cells have a higher discharge current, do not explode under extreme conditions and weigh less but have lower voltage and energy density than normal Li-ion cells.

The bulk of batteries Samsung and LG produce for electric vehicles are nickel-cobalt manganese (LiNiMnCo), a chemistry China is leaning away from. Last year, Samsung opened a LiNiMnCo battery factory in China and planned to invest $600 million there by 2020, something that they are now re-thinking. Both companies are expected to be hit hard, with sales declines in the double-digits.

Original article from Insideevs.com