Author: Feng Jingang
As a new type of battery, sodium-ion batteries will develop in concert with lead-acid and lithium-ion batteries, forming a diversified route for batteries and jointly promoting the long-term and stable development of new energy, making a significant contribution to the substitution of oil with electricity for humans.
On July 29th, a significant moment arrived for the global new energy industry – the leader of power batteries, CATL, officially released the first-generation of sodium-ion batteries. Considering the strength of CATL and its ability to create popular products, this sodium-ion battery is likely to become another sharp weapon in the new energy market, following lithium-ion batteries.
Counting the leaps in battery technology over the years, either improving lithium-ion batteries, or innovating other battery materials without practical use, CATL’s sodium-ion battery is both a revolutionary material and has boundless practical application value.
Objectively speaking, CATL’s sodium-ion battery, which is now in mass production, is one of the greatest innovations in the history of battery development, no inferior to Sony’s successful commercialization of lithium-ion batteries in 1990.
If Sony’s development of lithium-ion batteries laid the foundation for the era of 3C and then entered the new energy vehicle industry, what about CATL’s Sodium-ion battery? The industry generally believes that it opens the era of energy storage, and CATL, being innovative, says it can also be “applied to various electric transportation scenarios,” which undoubtedly leaves more room for imagination.
On the road of substituting oil with electricity for humans, batteries, as an energy storage medium, play an extremely important role. Over the past two centuries, humans have successively developed and extensively used two types of batteries – lead-acid batteries and lithium-ion batteries. Now, a new product – sodium-ion batteries – has been launched, which will also lead humans to take a bigger step towards the world of electric energy.
The Chosen One
Why is it CATL, not international power battery giants such as LG New Energy and Panasonic? Or domestic power battery pioneers such as BYD, Lishen, Funeng, and CEA counts? The reason is simple; CATL is born outstanding and is one of the best battery manufacturers on this planet.
In 2017, just six years after its establishment, CATL won the first place in the global power battery installation volume. Some people say that CATL’s success is the result of policy protection, but this argument is obviously too one-sided to withstand simple scrutiny. If policies were opportunities for all Chinese brands, how did CATL become the number one?Any company’s growth and expansion cannot be accomplished without timing, favorable conditions and human capabilities. Ningde Times’ achievement of global dominance could be attributed less to policy protection and more to its own hard work. Therefore, we see that from 2017 to 2020, Ningde Times has held the global No.1 position for four consecutive years and based on their performance this year, the likelihood of holding the position for five years is high.
Then, how hard did Ningde Times work? From the rapid development over the past decade and the evolution of battery technology they led in recent years, one can see glimpses of their journey. This story starts with the industry divergence and a good partnership which formed years ago.
More than a decade ago, when new energy was on the rise globally, there was a divergence in battery selection between Chinese and foreign manufacturers. Brands such as Tesla, Nissan, and BMW chose high-energy-density ternary lithium as the power battery, while domestic manufacturers chose low-energy-density lithium iron phosphate. Behind this difference lies the gap in technology and helplessness.
Change began in 2011. In that year, CATL, which had just separated from the 3C lithium giant ATL, teamed up with Huachen BMW. Nobody expected that this partnership would change the direction of China’s new energy, from mediocrity to excellence. After completing the development process of 800 pages of power batteries for Huachen BMW, Ningde Times emerged as a thoroughly transformed “department” turned into a modern enterprise.
With the empowerment of Huachen BMW, one can say that, on the surface, Ningde Times is a Chinese company, but it is imbued with German genes. This corporate mechanism constructed the core of Ningde Times’ decadelong growth.
In 2011, Ningde Times collaborated with Huachen BMW’s Project I to develop battery cells. Subsequently, the cooperation expanded to include multiple models such as 5 Series PHEV, X1 PHEV, and iX3. The high-quality cooperation with Huachen BMW, a German luxury car brand, enabled Ningde Times’ research, development, products, and services to stand out rapidly in the industry, laying a solid foundation for global dominance.
At the Automotive INNOVATIONS Awards ceremony held online in Frankfurt, Germany on July 15th, Ningde Times won the “Most Innovative Vehicle Supplier-New Energy Powertrain” award, becoming the first enterprise in the world to win this award because of its 100 kWh high-energy-density battery technology.
Interestingly, Ningde Times, which was honed by Huachen BMW to become a top-tier supplier, propelled China’s overall progress in new energy. There’s an interesting anecdote here. A Yutong New Energy engineer once privately told me that originally Yutong New Energy was also in a “workshop” state, but thanks to its cooperation with Ningde Times, Yutong New Energy was also reborn.In terms of technology, the excellence of CATL is more obvious. Due to the lithium battery accumulation of ATL, the world’s leading 3C battery manufacturer, and the demand of Brilliance BMW for ternary lithium power batteries, CATL focused on ternary lithium and lithium iron phosphate batteries from the beginning of its establishment, unlike other Chinese manufacturers who were “biased” in their development.
CATL’s breakthrough in ternary lithium battery technology is of great significance. It has accelerated the performance of China’s new energy vehicles and has begun to rival Tesla. In April 2020, the maximum working range of XPeng P7 reached 706 kilometers, becoming the highest range vehicle worldwide, powered by CATL’s world-leading 811 battery.
Indeed, CATL has not only broken the ten-year backwardness of China’s ternary lithium battery technology but has started to lead the development of global power battery technology. For example, in terms of materials, it includes 811, Nickel 55, silicon-carbon doping, 12V low-voltage lithium-ion, and the newly launched sodium battery, as well as the leading structural technologies such as CTP and CTC.
CATL’s ternary lithium battery technology is so outstanding that its batteries are highly sought after by global brands such as Tesla, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Volkswagen, even envied by European and American presidents. This star-studded treatment is a glory that China’s auto part suppliers have never had before but CATL has achieved. It has become a trump card in China’s new energy industry.
Powering the Sodium Age
Although CATL has pushed sodium batteries to a climax, it is not the first brand to produce sodium batteries in large scale. In mid-September last year, Zhongkehai Sodium declared that sodium-ion batteries had achieved mass production, with a capacity of up to 300,000 units per month, making it the first manufacturer globally to announce mass production of sodium batteries.
At the end of last year, the CCTV financial channel reported on the breakthrough of China’s new energy battery technology, including Zhongkehai Sodium’s sodium battery. This was the first time the public had learned about the comprehensive performance of the battery, including energy density nearing 150Wh/kg, a lifespan of over 4500 cycles, outstanding high and low-temperature performance, high safety, and quick charging capacity.
In June this year, the first global 1MWh sodium-ion battery light storage and charging intelligent micro-grid system jointly launched by the Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Zhongkehai Sodium was put into operation in the Taiyuan Integrated Reform Pilot Zone in Shanxi Province. This signified that China was leading the world in sodium-ion battery technology and industrialization.
The reason why Zhongkehai Sodium achieved a breakthrough in sodium batteries is that it features a leading technology development team, with senior experts such as Academician Chen Liquan of the Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences and researcher Hu Yongsheng as technical leaders of its R&D team, who were among the first to research sodium batteries in China.However, although Zhongke Hai’na was the first to mass-produce sodium batteries, its impact on the market has been limited and little known. As the global leader in power batteries, CATL’s release of sodium batteries has not only caused a sensation both domestically and abroad, but also successfully given birth to the sodium battery industry chain and become an important signal for the industry’s rise.
Just like many other leading technologies in the industry such as ternary lithium, 811, nickel 55, and CTP, CATL’s release of sodium batteries this time also has the function of an industry trendsetter, and is bound to cause huge waves in the new energy and other markets. From the content of the CATL press conference, it is indeed stunning for the era we are in.
According to CATL, the energy density of its sodium battery cell can reach as high as 160Wh/kg; it can be charged to over 80% within 15 minutes at room temperature; it also has a discharge retention rate of over 90% at a low temperature of -20°C; the system integration efficiency can reach over 80%; and its thermal stability greatly exceeds the safety requirements of national standards.
In the previous scientific popularization article on sodium batteries, we learned that the biggest disadvantage of sodium batteries is their low energy density. However, whether it is Zhongke Hai’na’s or CATL’s sodium batteries, the energy density of the new generation of sodium batteries is not low. They have already caught up with the advanced lithium iron phosphate batteries on the market, as well as ternary lithium batteries from a few years ago. This shows that the problem of low energy density of sodium batteries has been overcome.
In addition, according to CATL’s statement, what has been released so far is only the first generation of sodium batteries, and the second generation will be even more advanced, with an energy density of up to 200Wh/kg. Yes, the energy density of sodium batteries is not low. If combined with an integration efficiency of up to 80%, the energy density of a sodium battery pack will be quite impressive.
After the release of sodium batteries by CATL, insiders generally believe that they will replace lithium iron phosphate batteries. However, those familiar with CATL’s style should know that it always brings us some surprises.
This time, CATL also announced a new technology- the AB pack, in which sodium-ion batteries and lithium-ion batteries are mixed in a certain proportion to form a battery pack. Although the AB pack technology is very unfamiliar to everyone, CATL has actually developed a battery pack that combines ternary lithium and iron phosphate, which will soon be applied to a certain model of NIO car.
It is said that the advantages of the AB battery system not only make up for the shortcoming of sodium-ion batteries in energy density at the current stage, but also give full play to its advantages of high power and good low-temperature performance. CATL emphasized that “based on this system structural innovation, more application scenarios can be expanded for lithium-sodium battery systems.”In the electric world outlined by CATL, the application scope of sodium batteries is unlimited. What can be determined is that the era of sodium batteries has already begun. Of course, there are still many challenges for sodium batteries to become the next important energy storage medium for human beings, including weight density, production technology, and industrial chain issues that need to be further improved.
However, from a developmental perspective, CATL’s announcement to launch the sodium battery is a strong signal that sodium batteries have at least come out of the laboratory and the above problems have been effectively improved, fully capable of meeting commercial applications.
If a specific start time is to be mentioned, 2023 will be an important node. CATL has announced that they have started the industrial layout of sodium-ion batteries, and a basic industrial chain will be formed in 2023. This means that the industrial chain layout of sodium batteries has actually silently begun.
From then on, forging ahead towards the future!
Lithium-ion batteries have been around for over 30 years, and lithium-powered batteries have been around for over 10 years. Although this is not particularly long when compared to the century-long history of engines, it has matured to a point of forming a strong opposition with lead-acid batteries. As the global leader in lithium-ion batteries, why did CATL launch a new product category of sodium-ion batteries at this time?
In the opinion of Zhang Yuqun, “carbon neutralization” has given rise to a demand for trillions of watt-hours of batteries, promoting the booming development of the new energy industry, constantly spawning new application scenarios, providing different technology platforms for display, and diversified technology routes will also help to ensure the long-term stable development of the industry.
Zhang Yuqun’s statement of diversified technology routes should sound an alarm for us. The most important raw material for lithium-ion batteries is lithium. With the rapid development of the new energy market, coupled with the rise of the energy storage market, it means that the demand for lithium in the market will only become larger and larger. It is estimated that the demand for lithium in 2020 was 318,000 tons, which will increase to 786,000 tons by 2023.
Although the demand for lithium in the market is climbing rapidly, the prospect of lithium-ion battery reserves is worrying. Data shows that as of 2020, the world’s proven lithium ore reserves are only 21 million tons. Keep in mind that the current global penetration rate of new energy markets is only 6%, which still has a huge growth potential. At that time, lithium resources will inevitably become scarce.
It is estimated that by 2023 at the soonest, there will be a shortage of 18,000 tons of lithium resources. According to a recent article by Everbright Securities, hydrogen lithium and lithium carbonate prices, both of which are important raw materials for lithium extraction, have risen for 34 and 3 consecutive weeks respectively, and their prices have hit new highs this year. Obviously, the supply and demand of lithium has become tense.It is not difficult to predict that under the radical new energy policies of various countries, lithium resources will undoubtedly become the biggest obstacle to the development of new energy. After Central Europe has fully promoted the new energy market, the United States begins to awaken. On August 5, local time, the United States announced for the first time to the outside world that half of all new cars sold in the United States by 2030 will be new energy vehicles.
For China, the largest new energy market in the world, lithium supply is even more crucial. Among the proven lithium reserves in 2020, Chile ranks first with 9.2 million tons, followed by Australia, Argentina, and China, with China’s reserves only 1.5 million tons.
At present, China mainly relies on importing lithium concentrate from Australia and lithium salt from South America because China’s salt lakes have high altitude and difficult production and processing, leading to higher costs. Developing new energy is already part of China’s energy security strategy, but if the problem of severe shortage of lithium reserves cannot be solved, the development of new energy will become an empty talk.
Therefore, whether for the long-term stable development of global new energy, the future of Chinese new energy, or even energy security, we must seek batteries beyond lithium-ion batteries. Sodium-ion batteries, which are becoming increasingly mature in technology, have become the next focus of various battery manufacturers. After all, sodium does not have a problem of insufficient reserves.
Data show that sodium reserves account for 2.74% of the earth’s crust, while lithium reserves are only 0.0065%, 440 times that of lithium resources. Taking the sodium reserves of Chaharhan Salt Lake as an example, it is the largest salt lake in China and one of the largest natural salt lakes in the world. According to statistics, the sodium chloride reserves in Chaharhan Salt Lake are as high as 42.62 billion tons.
It seems that sodium-ion batteries, as new batteries, are very suitable for co-development with lead-acid and lithium-ion batteries to form a diversified battery route and jointly promote the long-term stable development of new energy. As lithium-ion batteries are reaching a bottleneck, the emergence of sodium-ion batteries highlights Ningde Times as the global leader in power batteries.
Regarding the emergence of sodium-ion batteries, Zeng Yuqun could not hide his pride. He said, “Some people think that the chemical system of batteries is already difficult to innovate and can only be improved in physical structure. But we believe that the world of electrochemistry, like the energy Rubik’s Cube, is far greater than the known. We tirelessly explore the mysteries in it.”
What makes Zeng Yuqun even more proud is that the breakthrough in sodium-ion battery technology is led by Huang Qisen, vice president of Ningde Institute of Technology Development. At the press conference, Zeng Yuqun deliberately used the term “young people.” It can be seen that as a technical master, Zeng Yuqun is very satisfied with these younger generation.
In October 2019, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced that the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2019 was awarded to John B. Goodenough, M. Stanley Whittingham, and Akira Yoshino for their outstanding contributions in the field of lithium-ion batteries. Engineers who have made breakthroughs in sodium battery technology, including Dr. Qisen Huang, may or may not receive the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in the future, but their names are destined to be recorded in the history of sodium battery development.
This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.