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    LFP vs NMC: the battery chemistry split

    Lithium-ion batteries are mostly split by cathode: lithium iron phosphate (LFP), which is cheaper and more thermally stable, and nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC), which stores more energy per kilogram.[1][2] LFP made up over 55% of EV batteries deployed in 2025, and its packs averaged 81 dollars per kilowatt-hour against 128 dollars for NMC.[3][4]

    Editor reviewedUpdated Batteries and energy storageEnergy and climateScience

    Two families of cathode

    The cathode is the positive electrode of a lithium-ion battery, and two cathode families dominate.[5] LFP uses iron and phosphate, which are cheap and plentiful, and is very stable when hot. NMC uses nickel, manganese and cobalt and packs more energy into the same weight.[1][2] Together, high-nickel chemistries and LFP account for the vast majority of EV batteries today.[5]

    LFP is a polyanion cathode. Iron keeps it cheap, and strong covalent bonding of oxygen improves thermal stability and safety. The costs are poor electronic conductivity and lower densities.[1] NMC belongs to the layered oxide family, which offers the highest gravimetric and volumetric energy densities of the main cathode classes.[2] The industry has moved to high-nickel variants that need relatively little cobalt.[5]

    The cost gap

    BloombergNEF’s 2025 survey found LFP packs averaged 81 dollars per kilowatt-hour across all segments, against 128 dollars for NMC.[4] It credited the spread of low-cost LFP, together with cell overcapacity and competition, for pushing the overall pack average down to 108 dollars per kilowatt-hour.[6][7] Stationary storage was the cheapest segment at 70 dollars per kilowatt-hour.[8]

    The IEA puts the 2025 gap at more than 40% per kilowatt-hour. It cautions that part of that gap comes from stationary storage, which mostly uses LFP and needs less energy density. It also warns that today’s prices may not last, because many cathode makers are operating at a loss while still adding capacity.[9]

    LFP’s takeover

    In 2025 LFP passed 55% of EV batteries deployed worldwide, up from nearly 50% the year before.[3] Chinese producers supplied almost 75% of electric-car batteries in 2025.[10]

    LFP’s share of EV deployments rose from nearly 50% in 2024 to over 55% in 2025.[3] LFP packs averaged about 47 dollars per kilowatt-hour less than NMC packs in 2025, despite LFP’s lower density.[4][1] China’s cost advantage is large: its 2025 average pack price was 84 dollars per kilowatt-hour, and North American and European prices were 44% and 56% higher.[11]

    Where LFP is spreading

    LFP is no longer only a Chinese story. In emerging and developing economies outside China, LFP batteries now power two-thirds of electric car sales, double their share in 2023, largely through imports of Chinese cars and batteries.[12] In the EU, LFP made up more than 10% of EV battery demand in 2025, and nearly all of it was imported from China. In the US, LFP’s share of EV batteries almost halved.[13]

    US factories are switching anyway, mainly for grid storage. In 2025 over 50 GWh of battery capacity, at companies including LG Energy Solution and Ford, was moved to LFP production, largely aimed at the storage market. The harder step is upstream: production of LFP cathode materials and their precursors is still almost entirely in China.[14] Stationary storage already made up one-third of US battery deployment in 2025.[15]

    Minerals and geopolitics

    The chemistry choice changes which minerals matter. LFP avoids nickel and cobalt. NMC needs both, though high-nickel versions use relatively little cobalt.[1][5] Cobalt prices doubled over the year to early 2026, and lithium prices more than doubled, and lithium is needed by both.[16] Cathode know-how is also a policy lever. In October 2025 China announced export controls on cathode materials, high-energy cells and graphite anodes, and then suspended them until November 2026.[17][18] See battery-critical-minerals.

    Beyond the two

    sodium-ion-batteries use the same intercalation idea with sodium. CATL’s mass-production cells reach up to 175 Wh/kg and outperform LFP in deep cold.[19][20] Solid-state designs aim to pair high-energy cathodes with lithium-metal anodes.[21]

    Questions readers ask

    What do LFP and NMC stand for?

    LFP is lithium iron phosphate, a polyanion cathode. NMC is nickel manganese cobalt oxide, a layered oxide cathode.[1][4]

    Which is cheaper?

    LFP. In 2025 LFP packs averaged 81 dollars per kilowatt-hour, against 128 dollars for NMC packs.[4]

    Why would anyone still choose NMC?

    Layered oxides such as NMC have higher gravimetric and volumetric energy density, so they suit applications where weight and space matter most.[2][1]

    How much of the EV market uses LFP?

    Over 55% of EV batteries deployed globally in 2025, up from nearly 50% in 2024.[3]

    Sources

    Each numbered claim is a statement we checked against the sources listed with it. Status shows how well established it is.

    1. [1]

      Polyanion cathodes such as lithium iron phosphate cut cost by using abundant metals like iron and are more thermally stable and safe, but have poor electronic conductivity and lower densities. confirmedas of 2026-10-10

    2. [2]

      Layered oxide cathodes, the family that includes nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) materials, have high gravimetric and volumetric energy densities. confirmedas of 2026-10-10

    3. [3]

      LFP batteries made up over 55% of EV batteries deployed globally in 2025, up from nearly 50% in 2024. confirmedas of 2026-10-10

    4. [4]

      In 2025 average LFP battery pack prices across all segments were 81 US dollars per kilowatt-hour, against 128 dollars for NMC packs. confirmedas of 2025-12-09

    5. [5]

      The IEA says high-nickel chemistries use relatively small quantities of cobalt, and that together with LFP they account for the vast majority of the EV battery market. confirmedas of 2026-10-10

    6. [6]

      BloombergNEF attributed 2025 price falls to cell manufacturing overcapacity, intense competition and the shift to lower-cost LFP batteries, despite higher battery metal costs. confirmedas of 2025-12-09

    7. [7]

      BloombergNEF's 2025 survey found average lithium-ion battery pack prices fell 8% from 2024 to a record low of 108 US dollars per kilowatt-hour. confirmedas of 2025-12-09

    8. [8]

      Battery pack prices for stationary storage fell to 70 US dollars per kilowatt-hour in 2025, 45% lower than in 2024. confirmedas of 2025-12-09

    9. [9]

      The IEA says LFP packs were more than 40% cheaper per kilowatt-hour than NMC packs in 2025, partly because stationary storage, which mostly uses LFP, needs less energy density, and that many cathode makers are operating at a loss while adding capacity. confirmedas of 2026-10-10

    10. [10]

      Chinese producers supplied almost 75% of the batteries deployed in electric cars worldwide in 2025. confirmedas of 2026-10-10

    11. [11]

      BloombergNEF put 2025 average pack prices in China at 84 US dollars per kilowatt-hour, with North American prices 44% higher and European prices 56% higher. confirmedas of 2025-12-09

    12. [12]

      LFP batteries power two-thirds of electric car sales in emerging and developing economies outside China, double their 2023 share, driven by imports of Chinese vehicles and batteries. confirmedas of 2026-10-10

    13. [13]

      In 2025 LFP made up more than 10% of EV battery demand in the EU, nearly all of it imported from China, while LFP's share of US EV batteries almost halved. confirmedas of 2026-10-10

    14. [14]

      In 2025 over 50 GWh of battery manufacturing capacity at companies including LG Energy Solution and Ford was switched to LFP, largely for stationary storage, but LFP cathode and precursor production remains almost entirely in China. confirmedas of 2026-10-10

    15. [15]

      Stationary battery storage accounted for one-third of battery deployment in the United States in 2025. confirmedas of 2026-10-10

    16. [16]

      Lithium prices at the start of 2026 were more than twice their level a year earlier, and cobalt prices also doubled over the year. confirmedas of 2026-10-10

    17. [17]

      On 9 October 2025 China announced export controls, due to take effect on 8 November 2025, on high-energy lithium-ion cells (300 Wh/kg and above), cathode materials and precursors, graphite anode materials, and related equipment and technology. confirmedas of 2025-10-14

    18. [18]

      On 7 November 2025 China suspended the October 2025 battery and graphite anode export controls, together with related rare-earth measures, until 10 November 2026. confirmedas of 2025-11-13

    19. [19]

      CATL's Naxtra sodium-ion battery reaches up to 175 Wh/kg, which CATL calls the benchmark for mass production, and gives a pure-electric range above 400 km. confirmedas of 2026-02-05

    20. [20]

      CATL says Naxtra delivers nearly triple the discharge power of equivalent LFP batteries at -30 C and keeps over 90% capacity at -40 C. confirmedas of 2026-02-05

    21. [21]

      QuantumScape develops solid-state lithium-metal battery technology built around a proprietary ceramic separator. confirmedas of 2026-02-11

    Revision history (2)
    1. Added LFP's spread to emerging markets, Europe and the US, the US switch of capacity to LFP for storage, China's hold on LFP cathode supply, and IEA notes on the price gap and cathode-maker losses.
    2. Page created.

    Created Oct 10, 2026. Last reviewed by an editor on Oct 10, 2026. Next scheduled review: Jan 10, 2027.

    Cite this page

    "LFP vs NMC: the battery chemistry split." ContentLora, updated Oct 11, 2026. https://contentlora.com/explain/lfp-vs-nmc-batteries

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