These 50,000 Cycle Life Sodium-Ion Batteries Can End Lithium Addiction

Lithium  -ion batteries  are the industry standard today. All  electric cars and plug-in hybrids  are equipped with a lithium-ion battery.

Sodium, much more abundant than lithium and in almost every corner of the planet, is a good substitute for lithium in batteries. The problem is that no one has yet succeeded in making a   commercially viable  sodium-ion battery . Except for  Natron Energy  , which says it is ready to start mass production of its sodium-ion battery.

The current scarcity of raw materials highlights the fragility of production chains that depend on rare and therefore expensive materials. Not to mention the industry's reliance on lithium. This is where sodium-ion batteries could play an important role.

Natron and  Clarios International  , a maker of low-voltage battery technologies for mobility, will collaborate to manufacture the  first mass-produced sodium-ion batteries  starting in 2023.

Natron's sodium-ion batteries, according to the brand, do not contain lithium, cobalt, nickel, copper or other minerals that have been affected by  recent price volatility  in the lithium-ion supply chain. .

At the same time, by not using raw materials from war zones, or depending on mining projects on the other side of the planet, Natron ensures the availability of its batteries at a stable price. According to Natron, these batteries also do not experience thermal runaway, making them safe to transport and dispose of without the risk of fire.

A lifetime of up to 50,000 cycles

Today, Natron batteries are mainly used for critical applications such as data centers and telecommunications networks. The brand assures that future applications may also include electric vehicles and networked energy storage.

It is now a bit early to see an application in the field of electric cars, since the  energy density of their batteries is lower than that of lithium-ion batteries  . Natron claims that in terms of volume, its design offers a volumetric power density between that of lead-acid and lithium-ion, but points out that it has a  lifespan of more than 50,000 charge-discharge cycles.  . It is something simply unheard of.

The first applications in electric vehicles could concern industrial vehicles, such as forklifts. However, given its theoretically huge lifespan of 50,000 cycles, it could serve as an intermediate (buffer)  battery in electric car charging stations  during peak hours, either from the station or from the power grid.

The advances made with lithium-ion batteries in recent years and the promising  solid-state battery technology mean that sodium-ion batteries for the car are not, at least for now, a solution that the industry sees.

However, its application in many other areas is also good news, as these are sectors that may no longer need lithium, thus reducing the demand for a resource whose exploitation  is not always the best for the world. environment . Or in any case, leave lithium to industries which for the moment cannot function without lithium.