Alibaba or Aliexpress or any other sources for LIFEPO4 batteries buying experience

[Solar. Enthusiast]

hello, i was looking for reliable & quality LIFEPO4 and found that china has nearly 80% of the production of these batteries. So finding good sources in China won't be an issue. I only know Alibaba as wholesale trading platform for chinese products.

on Alibaba there is so many companies that are eager to sell you their batteries and all claiming to be grade A and some grade A+ and i am sure i can't trust all these sellers, there must be few which are honest and reliable.

Anyone can share his/her experience buying from Alibaba or any chinese source. Please mention supplier name.

 

[upnorthandpersonal]

There are several threads here on this topic that should give you a start. Quite a few members on this forum (me included) bought cells off of Alibaba and have made reports about the experience and quality. There are a few vendor that are considered 'trusted'; probably the best at the time of writing is Amy at Luyuan. Relevant thread.

 

[upnorthandpersonal]

@Power expert Daisy - please read the rules of this forum. Corporate promotion is only allowed in the Corporate Deals Section.

 

[Solar. Enthusiast]

There are several threads here on this topic that should give you a start. Quite a few members on this forum (me included) bought cells off of Alibaba and have made reports about the experience and quality. There are a few vendor that are considered 'trusted'; probably the best at the time of writing is Amy at Luyuan. Relevant thread.

Thanks for the reply. i could find several threads here talking about this subject. My intention is to create a thread that will become a reference to anyone who needs to buy good Lithium batteries with the best price in any place in the world not only USA and Europe.

So a Brief feedback on any supplier will help us and reduce the time for the search. As i have spent few weeks contacting suppliers on Alibaba and searching the internet for a good source.

I'll try to list suppliers that i have contacted on Alibaba that seems like legitimate.

 

[Steve_S]

hello, i was looking for reliable & quality LIFEPO4 and found that china has nearly 80% of the production of these batteries. So finding good sources in China won't be an issue. I only know Alibaba as wholesale trading platform for chinese products.

on Alibaba there is so many companies that are eager to sell you their batteries and all claiming to be grade A and some grade A+ and i am sure i can't trust all these sellers, there must be few which are honest and reliable.

Anyone can share his/her experience buying from Alibaba or any chinese source. Please mention supplier name.

Battery Business like everything else in China is Extremely competitive, The majority of these vendors buy their batteries from Battery Cell brokers. They could be actual real genuine New Grade-A or they may be New Old Stock, Blems, and such. The majority of the cheap cells" are Bulk Commodity cells which more or less means they "just barely" make the grading, "edge case cells". See this link from my Signature: https://diysolarforum.com/threads/status-of-ess-storage-cells-being-purchased-commodity-cells.15539/

Please understand that the vendors also will Voltage & IR (Internal Resistance) Match cells, usually with a device like a Yaorea YR1035+ and only at the Storage Voltage that the cells are sitting at. These are NOT Matched, Batched and Binned, which is a long process of fully charging cells, discharging at different C-Rates taking reading every 10-15 minutes and then doing it again while charging, repeating this 3 times, as which point the cell readouts are compared and the calls are matched for performance through the entire operating range. A report with the Cell Serial Number & test results is provided for such. Typically if a 3rd party does this, it will easily add 50% of the cell cost on top so a $100 cell becomes $150.

Aside from Direct Sales from a Battery Manufacturers Storefront (which offer both Bulk & Matched cells (not cheaply either) because they are not keen on small buyers PLUS they have to allow for small vendors (laws & rules there are different).

Luyuan is ONE OF THE VERY FEW that offers Factory Matched & Batched cells. Yes those particular matched cells are more expensive, EVE 280AH $125 versus $92 for Bulk and that is a heck of a deal for Matched.

 

[Solar. Enthusiast]

Battery Business like everything else in China is Extremely competitive, The majority of these vendors buy their batteries from Battery Cell brokers. They could be actual real genuine New Grade-A or they may be New Old Stock, Blems, and such. The majority of the cheap cells" are Bulk Commodity cells which more or less means they "just barely" make the grading, "edge case cells". See this link from my Signature: https://diysolarforum.com/threads/status-of-ess-storage-cells-being-purchased-commodity-cells.15539/

Please understand that the vendors also will Voltage & IR (Internal Resistance) Match cells, usually with a device like a Yaorea YR1035+ and only at the Storage Voltage that the cells are sitting at. These are NOT Matched, Batched and Binned, which is a long process of fully charging cells, discharging at different C-Rates taking reading every 10-15 minutes and then doing it again while charging, repeating this 3 times, as which point the cell readouts are compared and the calls are matched for performance through the entire operating range. A report with the Cell Serial Number & test results is provided for such. Typically if a 3rd party does this, it will easily add 50% of the cell cost on top so a $100 cell becomes $150.

Aside from Direct Sales from a Battery Manufacturers Storefront (which offer both Bulk & Matched cells (not cheaply either) because they are not keen on small buyers PLUS they have to allow for small vendors (laws & rules there are different).

Luyuan is ONE OF THE VERY FEW that offers Factory Matched & Batched cells. Yes those particular matched cells are more expensive, EVE 280AH $125 versus $92 for Bulk and that is a heck of a deal for Matched.

This is the first I see someone taking the Matching process this way, but seems more logical, all I thought that matching cells is having cells at the same voltage in order to have more balanced cells. but now the idea is much clearer thanks.

I'll try to list suppliers that i have contacted on Alibaba that seems like legitimate.

Below offers were provided based on 10 KWH storage:

Beijing Xs Battery technology: they sell assembled battery packs lifepo4

• offer made: 24v400Ah with smart BMS and LCD screen inside well designed metal enclosure for 1900$
• verified supplier by Intertek

Shenzhen cpkd technology: they sell assembled batteries and standalone cells lifepo4 3.2V

• offer made:
  • 24v200Ah with smart BMS and LCD screen inside well designed metal enclosure for 900$.
  • 3.2V100Ah cell for 40$
• verified supplier by TUV

Shenzhen Mushang electronics: they sell standalone cells lifepo4 3.2V

• offer made:
  • 2* GFB 3.2V277Ah cell for 115$
• verified supplier by SGS

Dongguan Tairuiuan Power technology: they sell standalone cells lifepo4 3.2V

• offer made: 3.2V200Ah for 86.5$
• verified supplier by Intertek

Hefei Greensun Solar energy: they sell assembled battery packs lifepo4

• offer made: 24v400Ah battery pack plastic enclosure with smart bms 2523$
• verified supplier by TUV

EVE Energy (Official manufacturer): they sell standalone cells lifepo4 3.2V

• offer made: 3.2v100Ah for 57.6$ (280Ah batteries are now only sold with laser positioning hole no studs or threads)
• verified supplier by TUV

Shenzhen Delong energy Technology: they sell assembled battery packs lifepo4

• offer made: 24v200Ah battery with BMS and LCD screen inside a metal enclosure 860$
• verified supplier by SGS

 

[Steve_S]

All EV's PowerWalls, Grid Storage Blocks, regardless of Lithium Chemistry only used fully & properly Matched Batched & Binned cells. This is critical is such applications because even one bad cell can cause havoc and through things out of whack. All Lithium Cells are super sensitive to the voltages and temps, not like most other battery types. I gave you a tiny brief snapshot about balancing, I can give you white papers & technical references etc if you want to digest it all, it is dry and quite boring reading.

PreBuilts by generic vendors/makers are a 50/50 proposition. IF you want to go that way, look at CHINS (Will just did another review & teardown)

or AmpereTime, or step up to Gyll by Signature Solar. https://shop.signaturesolar.us/pages/eg4

Want guaranteed good pre-builts, then you get to BattleBorn and that set which now is getting into serious change.

If you are 12V then buy 12V Batteries or build 12V. If you are going 24V or 48V buy prebuilts for THAT voltage or build for THAT voltage... Do not cobble together batteries in series to build up for Voltage. BATTERIES are the FOUNDATION of the system and must support it, just like a building foundation has to support the structure on it.

Laser Welded Studs outperform standard studs.
Few vendors offer it but they are available.

Compare identical cells of the same grade/class otherwise you'll only suffer confusion. You have 280's 272's, 200, 100's and different grades shown.

MAKE A PLAN & STCK TO IT... Failure to Plan, is a Plan to Fail ! and that is always co$tly.
State what exactly your target is, 12,24,48V
How many watts / amps your going to draw constantly & surges handling
Know how big the battery system needs to be to supply enough energy for the time required for use.
Understand that the Battery Size needs to have enough Solar / Charger capacity to charge within the time available. A 30A Solar Charge Controller could never fully charge a 48V/280AH in <5 hours of daylight, not even close. And neither would a small 400W solar array.
To work out the kWh the formular is: (#of-cells * 3.2V nominal) * Cell-AH-Rating. [12V/100AH example] (4*3.2) 12.8*100AH = 1,280wh or 1.2kWh

 

[Solar. Enthusiast]

All EV's PowerWalls, Grid Storage Blocks, regardless of Lithium Chemistry only used fully & properly Matched Batched & Binned cells. This is critical is such applications because even one bad cell can cause havoc and through things out of whack. All Lithium Cells are super sensitive to the voltages and temps, not like most other battery types. I gave you a tiny brief snapshot about balancing, I can give you white papers & technical references etc if you want to digest it all, it is dry and quite boring reading.

PreBuilts by generic vendors/makers are a 50/50 proposition. IF you want to go that way, look at CHINS (Will just did another review & teardown)

or AmpereTime, or step up to Gyll by Signature Solar. https://shop.signaturesolar.us/pages/eg4

Want guaranteed good pre-builts, then you get to BattleBorn and that set which now is getting into serious change.

If you are 12V then buy 12V Batteries or build 12V. If you are going 24V or 48V buy prebuilts for THAT voltage or build for THAT voltage... Do not cobble together batteries in series to build up for Voltage. BATTERIES are the FOUNDATION of the system and must support it, just like a building foundation has to support the structure on it.

Laser Welded Studs outperform standard studs.
Few vendors offer it but they are available.

Compare identical cells of the same grade/class otherwise you'll only suffer confusion. You have 280's 272's, 200, 100's and different grades shown.

MAKE A PLAN & STCK TO IT... Failure to Plan, is a Plan to Fail ! and that is always co$tly.
State what exactly your target is, 12,24,48V
How many watts / amps your going to draw constantly & surges handling
Know how big the battery system needs to be to supply enough energy for the time required for use.
Understand that the Battery Size needs to have enough Solar / Charger capacity to charge within the time available. A 30A Solar Charge Controller could never fully charge a 48V/280AH in <5 hours of daylight, not even close. And neither would a small 400W solar array.
To work out the kWh the formular is: (#of-cells * 3.2V nominal) * Cell-AH-Rating. [12V/100AH example] (4*3.2) 12.8*100AH = 1,280wh or 1.2kWh

The plan is clear for me: first ill be buying a hybrid 3kva inverter which should be able to charge my batteries with at least 80A. 9 Panels 400W.
and the most important factor is batteries. This why I am looking for long lasting reliable batteries.

In my country "Battery storage" means lead acid super heavy Deep cycle batteries which lasts at maximum 3 years as they never size the system properly they always go for full discharge. so LifePo4 are rarely available here.

i am looking to introduce this technology to more people around me. i just need to try it myself first before convincing people about how much they can save when they replace their bulky lead acid with lithium.

 

[ProcomLebnon]

Hi did anyone try to buy from Alibaba lithium phosphate battery 51V 100A with bms and have good experience?

 

[feiyu]

Lithium-ion batteries are a hot commodity in China, and they are basically in short supply. In the first half of 2021, the top ten in the battery industry are: CATL（china） LG（Korea） Panasonic（japan）BYD（china） Samsung SDI（Korea） SKI（Korea） CALB（china） GOTION（china） Vision AESC（china） EVE（china）​

Tesla, Volkswagen, BMW, GM, Mercedes, NIO, They all need batteries. Do you think these battery factories are willing to abandon these car factories and sell the batteries to you?

 

[ProcomLebnon]

That's right , but at least we have to start testing that type of Chinese batteries with solar system and to monitor the results on short term
Did you try any on alibaba and got good results ?

 

[ProcomLebnon]

Did anyone try Nirut Powerporter lithium batteries from alibaba?

Alibaba Manufacturer Directory - Suppliers, Manufacturers, Exporters & Importers

langheenergy.en.alibaba.com

they are saying they have CATL batteries

 

[HenryF]

My recent battery experience on Alibaba: I ordered 45 x 230AH batteries from Shenzhen EEL Electronics Co., LTD. Online reviews were good. I also had a local friend in China check them out, no concerns raised. They had the best price for 230Ah batteries (the best size for my EV conversion) and promised Grade-A cells. From my payment until batteries cleared customs in Sydney was 6 weeks. Batteries were boxed (5/box) with thick foam and arrived in great condition.

I used ABBA logistics to do the customs work, mostly because they were the ones who received the incoming paperwork. You can shop around for this service, but it could only save about $100 max from the service charges. I heard that you can process the paperwork yourself, but it was not worth the trouble for me.

I collected the batteries from a warehouse in Botany. This saved a local delivery charge. They forked the small pallet onto my trailer, but I could just as easily have put the 9 boxes into my car. 200kg battery weight.

A few cells were covered in two layers of the thin blue wrap. They appear to have scratches on the first cover. I consider this to be a very minor defect.

This was my total cost:

Australian $
$4,471 45 x “Prismatic Lithium REPT 230Ah 3.2v LiFePo4 Cells”. Listed at US$68each
$362 Alibaba credit card fee
$268 DAT Shipping, charged by Seller
$115 Port Charge
$152 Bunker Charge
$48 Currency Adjustment
$210 Customs Agent (ABBA Logistics)
$145 Quarantine Fee
$45 Document fee. (ABBA Logistics)
$200 Other fees. (ABBA Logistics)
$530 GST

$6,621 Total
(=AU$147 each, about US$102/each)

They included double bus-bars for me at no extra cost. They are tinned copper 2mm thick, 20mm wide.

Shipping charge from the seller was DAT (Delivered at Terminal) to Sydney/Botany. I paid all other charges locally.

Here is a listing from the same seller, but for the more popular 280Ah size:
https://sc04.alicdn.com/kf/H21f0b0546cad4516b8803334fb68c79cn.jpg

Linda Shaw (+86 131 3846 1672) at Shenzhen EEL Electronics Co., LTD was very helpful and responsive. All shipping paperwork was provided promptly.

I charged two batteries with a bench power supply and discharged with a battery discharge tester (https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/123921217843). Capacity was better than expected. Details:

I charged to 3.6v (99% SOC) and discharged to 3.0v. After a moment without load, cell voltage “recovered” to 3.23v (20% SOC). That 79% SOC change should have been 181Ah (.79*230Ah), but I measured 199Ah, indicating that I have slightly more capacity than promised. The cells had test stickers indicating around 236Ah (more than the 230Ah spec). I am off by ~4% on SOC calculation or ~9% on battery capacity, which I cannot explain, but it is in my favour, so I am not worrying about it.

All sampled cells had similar starting voltage of 3.26 or about 35% SOC. I am going to charge the tested cells to the same voltage and try my luck with the Batrium BMS top-balancing them in the vehicle. I will then manually charge/discharge any cells that are causing problems…

 

[upnorthandpersonal]

@HenryF Welcome to the forum. Feel free to start your own thread as well with your test results and progress!

 

[Surferdudemi]

Lithium-ion batteries are a hot commodity in China, and they are basically in short supply. In the first half of 2021, the top ten in the battery industry are: CATL（china） LG（Korea） Panasonic（japan）BYD（china） Samsung SDI（Korea） SKI（Korea） CALB（china） GOTION（china） Vision AESC（china） EVE（china）​

Tesla, Volkswagen, BMW, GM, Mercedes, NIO, They all need batteries. Do you think these battery factories are willing to abandon these car factories and sell the batteries to you?

You need to make a distinction between Li-ion, which is usually the NMC variety and often 18650 or 26650 cylindrical sizes, and the LiFePO4 prismatic cells.

 

[Surferdudemi]

There are several threads here on this topic that should give you a start. Quite a few members on this forum (me included) bought cells off of Alibaba and have made reports about the experience and quality. There are a few vendor that are considered 'trusted'; probably the best at the time of writing is Amy at Luyuan. Relevant thread.

Wading through all the different threads seems like an inefficient way of doing it. Is there a way we could have a topic on supplier reviews with a thread for each supplier, and a summary chart with scores? I realize it would take more work if one person were doing it, and nobody really has time to edit and summarize, but with the structure in place, perhaps people would naturally follow it.

 

[upnorthandpersonal]

@Will Prowse What do you think? Separate topic on supplier reviews with a thread for each supplier? (as @Surferdudemi suggests)

 

[Królik]

Hello everyone,
I'd like to revive this topic because it's quite relevant to my needs...but not exactly. I am looking for a good seller with EU stock because air shipping kills the deal and I just can't wait for cells to come overseas. I see quite a few on Aliexpress...but none that would be recommended by others.

Is there anyone cell worthy of being recommended?