Salt Batteries: A Revolution in Energy Storage, Electric Vehicles to Feel the Impact
Major players in the battery industry are beginning to invest in innovative sodium-based technology, indicating the potential for further disruption in the sector, which plays a vital role in the transition to clean energy.
Sodium, found in rock salts and brines around the world, could make inroads into energy storage and electric vehicles because it’s cheaper and far more abundant than lithium, which currently dominates batteries. But sodium, although chemically and structurally similar, has yet to be used on a large scale, partly due to the better range and performance of similarly sized lithium cells.
That might be changing. Last week, Sweden’s Northvolt AB said it had made a breakthrough with the technology, while Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD Co. signed a contract to build a $1.4 billion sodium-ion battery plant. China’s CATL already announced in April that its sodium-based batteries will be used in some vehicles starting this year.
“It’s a serious investment,” said Rory McNulty, senior research analyst at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. “It creates confidence when they say we’re here to continue to scale capacity to commercialize this technology.”
If sodium products prove successful, they could curb lithium consumption. It’s also a reminder of the dangers of predicting the use of metals in an ever-evolving industry as companies search for cheaper, more efficient cells.
Although the low energy density of sodium-ion batteries means they are not suitable for large electric cars, they could increasingly be used in place of lithium in lower-end, shorter-range vehicles – or to store energy for the electric grid if size is not an option. problem.
BloombergNEF has said sodium should reduce lithium demand by about 272,000 tons by 2035, or more than a million tons if lithium supply doesn’t match use.
Changes in the metal alloy of batteries have revolutionized the supply and demand outlook and increased prices. Demand estimates for cobalt and nickel—which just a few years ago saw long-term shortages—have been revised up by the emergence of cells that don’t use them.
And the potential for large price swings is particularly evident in lithium.
The buying frenzy sent prices skyrocketing last year — a spike that prompted battery companies to view sodium as a cheaper alternative — before collapsing as demand for electric vehicles fizzled and the supply outlook improved.
“Sodium-ion will play a role in improving the lithium supply-demand balance,” said Sam Adham, director of battery materials at consultancy CRU Group. “It dampens the really strong fluctuations in lithium prices.”
Although lithium prices have fallen recently, sodium remains the cheaper option. If the market is growing, it may reflect the rise of lithium-ion phosphate (LFP) cells, which have been favored as more efficient products due to their lower cost.
Its most obvious potential benefit is storing excess electricity for grids, which is increasingly important as the world moves away from fossil fuels. There, battery performance is less important than low price.
Sodium’s success is also based on improving the life cycle of cells – the number of times they can be charged and discharged before they need to be replaced. Sodium cells currently average 5,000 cycles compared to about 7,500 cycles for the most cost-effective lithium products.
The big question is whether it can be done, and if it works, there could be more demand in the energy storage industry, said Duo Fu, an analyst at Rystad Energy.
So far, the nascent sodium-based cell sector appears to be dominated by Chinese producers, who control most lithium battery production due to the sheer size of their operations, keeping costs down. This should give them an edge over their European and American competitors.
CRU’s Adham said European and American manufacturers have far less experience in mass-producing sodium or lithium batteries. “You can be cost competitive in reality with economies of scale.”
