Lithium-ion batteries are nowhere close to easing their dominion in the rechargeable battery market. However, development is speeding up on a competin

Sodium-Ion Batteries Poised to Pick Off Large-Scale Lithium-Ion Applications

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2021-06-07 06:00:05

Lithium-ion batteries are nowhere close to easing their dominion in the rechargeable battery market. However, development is speeding up on a competing chemistry for larger-scale applications—i.e. not EVs or consumer electronics—the sodium-ion battery.

Researchers have been promising to make sodium batteries viable for years. The technology might finally be catching up to its promise, with a couple companies now starting commercial deliveries.

In September 2020, the Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy awarded Santa Clara, California-based Natron Energy USD $19.9 million as part of a new program to fast-track technologies, with the goal of advancing their commercialization efforts. The batteries are now in low-volume commercial production, says VP of Sales Jack Pouchet. Natron’s first customers are data centers and telecom companies.

“From a pure performance point-of-view, sodium-ion batteries are not attractive for portable electronics or electric vehicles,” says K. M. Abraham, research professor at Northeastern University and CTO of lithium battery consulting firm E-KEM Sciences. Lithium-ion batteries boast a higher energy density than sodium-ions, which means a compact lithium-ion will have a longer run time between charges. So far, sodium-ions have demonstrated about half the energy density of lithium, which can reach 285 Wh/kg, he says.