LFP vs NMC Batteries: The Truth About EV Tech in 2025
Do you know what battery is in your electric car? No. Do you even care? Well, I think you should because it will affect the performance, the charging speed, and even the future value of your electric car. So, if you want to find out more and see a glimpse into the very near future, then keep watching. [Music] At electrifying.com, it’s no surprise that we love electric cars of all shapes and sizes. But the bit that fascinates me is the bit you can’t see, the battery. It’s a bit like in the old days you wanted to know if you had a V6 or a V8. I want details. It seems that you’re all hungry for more information, too. We did a survey of more than 11,000 UK drivers. And for 2/3 of you, it’s the battery that worries you most about buying an electric car. So, we asked our podcast listeners, what are the questions that bug you most about electric car batteries? [Music] Yep, there are a lot of them. So, I’ve come to the IAA mobility show here in Munich to get some answers. And we’ve caught up with our friends from CL who are the world’s leaders in EV and energy storage batteries. I’ve caught up with their experts to get some answers. Let’s go find out. Now, nearly one in three EVs run on CL cells. So, if there’s one company best place to provide answers, it’s this one. It latest packs will be used in the new BMW ranges, including the EX-3. So, let’s get to the questions you’ve asked us to CL. And I’m going to kick off with the one that’s most frequently asked. How long will batteries last? When the new generation of EVs was launched, there were rumors that the batteries would need to be replaced after just a few years. That’s been proven wrong, thankfully. And there are many electric cars with hundreds of thousands of miles. And the life of those cells is getting better with new technology, too. Take CL’s new Shenzing Pro battery for example. The company says it expects this to have just 9% degradation after 120,000 miles. Now, in this case, it means it would still have a range of about 431 mi, even when it’s got 120,000 mi on the clock as a used car. Now, that means it’s still worth a lot of money. So, your residual values are increased. That means your leasing costs and your other finance costs are going to be less and decreases your overall cost of ownership. Makes electric driving cheaper. In fact, CL says the Shenzing Pro has a 12 year, 1 million km lifespan. That’s 621,371 mi. There aren’t many internal combustion engines that would be expected to be going after that many miles. And that’s why they used in situations where high mileages, long ranges, and fast charging essential. One of the reasons is the strict quality checks. CL uses a medical grade CT scan with AI analysis to check that every cell is perfect. As a result, it has a 1 in 10 million failure rate. That’s the best in the business. Okay, what’s next? Even keen EV enthusiasts may struggle to know the difference between the types, but the chemistry inside the cells varies. Most electric cars at the moment use a formulation called NMC or nickel manganese cobalt. Now, these formulas allow a lot of energy to be stored in a small space. Now, there’s another type called LFP or lithium ion phosphate, which is slightly bigger, but it’s hardier and allows faster charging. It’s also cheaper to make. Many car makers are now offering the two different battery types. Along with CL, other battery makers such as LG, Samsung SDI and SKON are also moving into LFP. So, it’s becoming a global trend. As they use fewer precious metals, they’re kinder on the environment, which brings us to one of the common criticisms you’ll get about electric cars and their batteries is that they’re not really environmentally friendly at all because you need to mine the minerals that they need to use. Well, you need to mine lots of things to make stuff, including oil. And that can’t be used again and again, unlike electric car batteries. And once they finished in your electric car, they can go on to be power storage to help balance the grid when you’re using solar and wind energy. And after 30 or so years, when they finally reach the end of their life, they can be recycled. And all those minerals are extracted and refined. and then they have another life in a nice shiny new electric car battery or in this case a fridge magnet. Battery makers are working hard to minimize the use of rare minerals, not least because it makes batteries cheaper to make. We’ve seen that these batteries are designed to outlast the car and be reused, but once at the end of their useful life, the minerals from the retired batteries can be extracted and reused for new ones. CL says that within 20 years, 50% of new batteries will no longer rely on virgin minerals at all. CL is able to recover 99.6% of nickel, cobalt, and manganesees, as well as 93.8% of lithium, which all goes back to produce new batteries. Some buyers might be worried about EV safety following all those alarmist stories about fires and being left stranded. The truth is they’re actually very rare and they’re set to become even less frequent thanks to CL’s new NP3.0 technology. It uses a detection and control system which automatically monitors temperature, voltage, and other signals to ensure the power system remains safe and controllable. The cooling system uses the pack’s high voltage power to run the compressor, which makes the chilling effect longer and more efficient. It can keep going for over 10 hours rather than the usual 20 minutes. If a fault is detected while driving, the battery won’t cut the power until you’re safely stopped, allowing you to get to a parking space or refuge spot. So, there you have it. Answers to all the questions you had about electric car batteries. This will allow you to make an informed choice because sometimes you can have a choice of NMC and LFP, even within the same range of cars, like you used to with petrol and diesel in the old days. So, choose wisely and let us know if you have any other questions about batteries, and we’ll do our best to find out. [Music]
Do you know what battery is inside your electric car – and why it matters? From charging speed to performance and even future resale value, your EV’s battery is more important than you think.
In this video, Electrifying.com heads to the Munich Motor Show to meet CATL – the world’s biggest EV battery maker – and get answers to YOUR questions about:
✅ How long EV batteries really last
✅ What LFP batteries are (and how they differ from NMC)
✅ Are EV batteries actually safe?
✅ How battery recycling works & why it matters
With CATL now powering nearly 1 in 3 EVs worldwide (including Tesla, BMW, Ford, and more), this is your ultimate guide to the tech that powers electric cars today – and tomorrow.
👉 Got more battery questions? Drop them in the comments – we’ll get you answers.
#EV #CATL #Battery
0:00 – Why EV batteries matter
1:05 – Looking for the answers to YOUR questions at IAA Munich
1:37 – How long do EV batteries really last?
2:58 – World-leading quality checks
3:14 – LFP vs NMC: what’s the difference?
3:57 – Are EV batteries really green?
4:38 – Recycling and second life uses ♻️
5:16 – Battery safety & CATL NP3.0 tech
5:59 – Making the right battery choice
