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CHANGSHA: In Changsha, deep in China’s interior, thousands of chemists, engineers and manufacturing workers are shaping the future of batteries. Across the Xiang river, factories mix minerals into processed compounds that make rechargeable batteries possible. These batteries, mostly made of lithium, have powered the rise of cellphones, electronics and are transforming the auto industry. China dominates their chemical refining and production.
Now China is positioning itself to command the next big innovation in rechargeable batteries: replacing lithium with sodium, a far cheaper and more abundant material.
Sodium, found all over the world as part of salt, sells for 1% to 3% of the price of lithium and is chemically very similar. Recent breakthroughs mean that sodium batteries can now be recharged daily for years, chipping away at a key advantage of lithium batteries. The energy capacity of sodium batteries has also increased. And sodium batteries come with a big advantage: They keep almost all of their charge when temperatures fall far below freezing, something lithium batteries typically do not do.
In Changsha, graduates from Central South University are working on sodium battery technology at nearby research labs run by companies including Germany’s BASF, the world’s biggest chemical maker.
Chinese battery executives said they have figured out in the past year how to make sodium battery cells so similar to lithium ones that they can be made with the same equipment. Chinese giant CATL, the world’s largest manufacturer of electric car batteries, says it has discovered a way to use sodium cells and lithium cells in a single electric car’s battery pack, combining the low cost and weather resistance of sodium cells with the extended range of lithium cells. The firm says it is now prepared to mass produce these mixed battery packs.
Multinational corporations are taking notice of sodium. “I’m confident we will start seeing sodium replace lithium for certain applications, ” said Mike Henry, CEO of BHP, the world’s largest mining firm.
Research into using sodium for batteries began in earnest in the 1970s, led then by the US. Chinese companies have since taken the lead in commercialising the technology. Out of 20 sodium battery factories now planned or already under construction around the world, 16 are in China, as per Benchmark Minerals, a consulting firm. In two years, China will have nearly 95% of the world’s capacity to make sodium batteries.
Lithium battery production will still dwarf sodium battery output at that point, Benchmark predicts, but advances in sodium are accelerating.
Now China is positioning itself to command the next big innovation in rechargeable batteries: replacing lithium with sodium, a far cheaper and more abundant material.
Sodium, found all over the world as part of salt, sells for 1% to 3% of the price of lithium and is chemically very similar. Recent breakthroughs mean that sodium batteries can now be recharged daily for years, chipping away at a key advantage of lithium batteries. The energy capacity of sodium batteries has also increased. And sodium batteries come with a big advantage: They keep almost all of their charge when temperatures fall far below freezing, something lithium batteries typically do not do.
In Changsha, graduates from Central South University are working on sodium battery technology at nearby research labs run by companies including Germany’s BASF, the world’s biggest chemical maker.
Chinese battery executives said they have figured out in the past year how to make sodium battery cells so similar to lithium ones that they can be made with the same equipment. Chinese giant CATL, the world’s largest manufacturer of electric car batteries, says it has discovered a way to use sodium cells and lithium cells in a single electric car’s battery pack, combining the low cost and weather resistance of sodium cells with the extended range of lithium cells. The firm says it is now prepared to mass produce these mixed battery packs.
Multinational corporations are taking notice of sodium. “I’m confident we will start seeing sodium replace lithium for certain applications, ” said Mike Henry, CEO of BHP, the world’s largest mining firm.
Research into using sodium for batteries began in earnest in the 1970s, led then by the US. Chinese companies have since taken the lead in commercialising the technology. Out of 20 sodium battery factories now planned or already under construction around the world, 16 are in China, as per Benchmark Minerals, a consulting firm. In two years, China will have nearly 95% of the world’s capacity to make sodium batteries.
Lithium battery production will still dwarf sodium battery output at that point, Benchmark predicts, but advances in sodium are accelerating.
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