CATL Will Start Mass Producing Sodium Ion Batteries | NextBigFuture.com

The two firms are key material providers essential to the domestic sodium-ion battery supply chain.“Sodium-ion cells have a lower energy density, ~100-150Wh/kg, in comparison to lithium-ion cells’, 330Wh/kg,” says James Frith, head of energy storage at BloombergNEF, “So expect them to be used to replace lead-acid initially, in applications such as back-up power and two and three-wheelers.“In the long run, stationary storage markets could be suitable for sodium-ion deployments.”UK battery maker Faradion’s has proprietary Faraday Institution – Sodium-ion Batteries: Inexpensive and Sustainable Energy StorageSodium-ion batteries (NIBs) are attractive prospects for stationary storage applications where lifetime operational cost, not weight or volume, is the overriding factor. Due to an immature supply chain, NIB companies currently produce cells in relatively small batches.NOTE: the recent CATL commitment means that the supply chain and scaling of sodium-ion batteries is happening.Up to 30% Cheaper Than Lithium Iron Phosphate BatteriesAfter production is scaled up, sodium ion batteries may have a certain cost advantage due to the low cost of raw materials, but they are inferior to lithium-ion batteries in electrochemical performance.NIBs should become less expensive than LIBs as sodium’s abundance and ubiquity ensures an economical and predictable supply of raw materials.