The Big Shift in Batteries, Sodium-Ion Batteries Are Coming
Swedish start-up Northvolt, which recently announced a new technology that eliminates the need for lithium, cobalt, or nickel in battery production.
As the use of green energy continues to rise globally, significant developments are occurring in the field of energy storage, particularly with sodium-ion batteries, which are set to revolutionize industries like automotive. Recently, CATL, the world's largest battery manufacturer, announced that it has started producing sodium-ion batteries, marking a major step towards achieving global sustainability goals.
Currently, lithium-ion batteries are the most widely used batteries in the world, found in devices ranging from smartphones to electric vehicles. However, there has been a continuous search for more cost-effective and sustainable alternatives to these batteries. Sodium-ion batteries are emerging as a key innovation in this area. Structurally similar to lithium-ion batteries, sodium-ion batteries offer a more accessible and environmentally friendly option due to their reliance on more abundant sodium reserves.
Sodium-ion batteries, which date back to the 1970s, fell out of favor in the 1990s when lithium-ion batteries were introduced with perceived advantages. However, the benefits of sodium-ion batteries began to re-emerge in the 2010s. The development of suitable electrodes to enhance the performance of these batteries has become a critical focus. A breakthrough was made in France, where a sodium-ion battery prototype, capable of storing a comparable amount of electricity to lithium-ion batteries, was developed.
By 2022, sodium-ion batteries had not yet entered commercial production, but things started to change when CATL announced plans to begin mass production of SIBs in 2023. In February 2023, China's HiNa Battery Technology Co. Ltd. installed a 120 Wh/kg sodium-ion battery in an electric test vehicle. That same year, energy storage manufacturer Pylontech received the first sodium-ion battery certification from TÜV Rheinland.
The latest development comes from the Swedish start-up Northvolt, which recently announced a new technology that eliminates the need for lithium, cobalt, or nickel in battery production. This innovation could potentially reduce global dependency on China's dominance in battery supply chains. Northvolt’s CEO and co-founder, Peter Carlsson, highlighted the significance of this technology in making electrification more cost-effective, sustainable, and accessible worldwide.
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