Blog - Others

Low priced cells on the market

Question: We have received a quote for a battery pack from a Chinese supplier. The quote is considerably lower than the price of the LFP cells on the market in Europe. Why is this so?

Answer: Yes, the pricing that is available from some suppliers in China is astonishingly low. Some offer only price as low as $0.50 to $0.60 per Ah. Of cause this “low” price creates a suspicion about the quality of the products.

We suggest customers should review these questions:

• What is the original of the cells used in the pack? Are they new cells? Or are they some cells that were recalled from some projects and are now resold “as new”?  Can you verify the production date of the cells?
    
• What is the brand and the specification of the cells used in the pack? What are the references of these products? How long has this type of the cells been on the market and what is the real customer experience?
     
• What is the history of the supplier? Are there any references of at least five or more years? Are there some projects where the same cells are used in continued applications?  Can this be proved by satisfied customers?
     
• How will the supplier hand a warranty case? Who will pay the costs of the handling such warranty case if dealing with some Chinese supplier? (Note: China customs does not allow return-import of battery products into China, especially if marked as defective.)

The situation on the China market is very messed up. There are many companies who expected big sales of the lithium cells, but are now forced to dump the price of the cells in order to pay back the loans needed for the production.

In the near future, we expect that the gap between the top quality producers with verified products and with realizable sales history and the “B” grade suppliers and second hand market cells will keep growing.