Starting a LifePo4 battery brand

[kenmo]

I work for a company that is interested in getting into the 12V LifePo4 drop in battery market to compete with Battle Born, Renogy, Victron, ect... We are in the development design stage of the batteries. I wanted get some feedback on what would you consider to be the optimum general specs (continues discharge current, peak discharge current, max. charge current, ect) for these batteries. The main market will be RV solar as well as home solar.

Buyer research question: If you were planning on buying a Battle Born 100ah at $949 would you consider purchasing an unknown new brand 100ah battery with similar specs and 5yr warranty period for $849?

Same question but unknown brand battery is 120ah, price is the same $849?
Same question but unknown brand is 180ah and price is $1149?

Thanks for your time,

Ken

 

[Rider]

Buyer research question: If you were planning on buying a Battle Born 100ah at $949 would you consider purchasing an unknown new brand 100ah battery with similar specs and 5yr warranty period for $849?

Same question but unknown brand battery is 120ah, price is the same $849?
Same question but unknown brand is 180ah and price is $1149?

Only if you publish battery specs first. Comparing battery's prices based solely on Ah is meaningless.

 

[svetz]

We can already find unknown brands on AliExpress for $200/kWh. The only reason to pay more is if it's a solid company.

 

[BoloMKXXVIII]

I would never buy large ticket items from an unknown source. You are going to have to build a reputation first. You will never be the cheapest. The Chinese companies will always be able to undercut your price. BattleBorn took the high road. They build a quality product that matches the published specs and backs it with a quality warranty and quality customer service. They can charge more because they offer more. If you do the same and sell just a bit below the price of BattleBorn you will find a market. I hope you have deep pockets. It takes a while to build a reputation. Good customer service also costs money. Use quality parts. If your first product has too many failures your company is done. Even if you back up your product with replacements, it is of little comfort to the RV 1,000 miles from home. Do not try to be all things to all people. Pick one product to start out with (100Ah 12v as an example) and expand as you build your customer base. Know your market. If you want to get into the RV market, spend lots of time on RV forums reading about the strengths and weaknesses of the other batteries on the market. Best of luck. We need more players in the market.

 

[kenmo]

Only if you publish battery specs first. Comparing battery's prices based solely on Ah is meaningless.

Current specs are as follows, but may change if we feel there is a demand for different.

Continuous current rating for 100ah would be 100A, 150ah - 150A and so on.
Max current would be double that of the continuous
Max charge rate: 50A
High Voltage cutt-off: 14.6
Low V cut-off: 10V

 

[Bob B]

I think there are a lot of people who want a less expensive battery who don't want to take on the risk of ordering and having them shipped from China,,
I doubt that selling $100 less on the 100 AH will be enough .... but $300 less on the $125 or larger could be. I think most people looking for RV batteries are looking for larger .... at least 200AH and some of the large coaches 600 AH or more. Another possible point of competition is to have larger 200 - 400 AH batteries all in one case instead of having to have all 100AH.

 

[b.james]

The way LFP prices are dropping atm your price point should be at least a hundred lower again . China is down to 0.80 cents USD per Ah for 100Ah sizes and less for bigger.

 

[svetz]

There are a lot of features you could add that would make it more desirable in the market place. You've probably seen a number of them as you've read through the forums (e.g., a way to know when it's done charging, active balancing rather than resistive, fault light to know if BMS has a problem (e.g., cells getting out of balance)).