China's sodium battery production capacity will account for nearly 95% of the world

China's sodium battery production capacity will account for nearly 95% of the world

China is leading the next wave of major technological innovation in rechargeable batteries by replacing lithium with sodium, a lower-cost and more abundant metal, according to the New York Times. Data from the Benchmark Mining Intelligence, a British battery raw materials consultancy, show that of the 20 sodium battery plants currently planned or under construction worldwide, 16 are in China. In the next two years, China's sodium battery production capacity will account for nearly 95% of the world.

Sodium-ion batteries have long been considered the biggest advantage over lithium-ion batteries is the cost, in recent years, the surge in lithium prices and the supply of lithium resources is tight, and for the re-development of sodium-ion batteries to create an opportunity. Specifically, the use of ferromanganese nickel-based cathode materials compared to lithium-ion battery ternary cathode materials, raw material costs by half; due to the characteristics of the sodium salt, allowing the use of low-concentration electrolyte to reduce costs; sodium ions do not form an alloy with aluminum, the battery anode can be used as a collector of aluminum foil, which can further reduce the cost of about 8%.