By Anders Lorenzen

Critics of increased electrification and not least transitioning transport from fossil fuels to electric mobility argue that until now there have not been many credible mass-produced economically viable alternatives to lithium batteries, a mineral that is in short supply and which critics say does not hold enough resources to electrify the world.

But this might change soon.

At least Natron Energy, a sodium-ion battery pioneer, progressed significantly in the mass production of its specially formulated sodium batteries. In April it opened a state-of-the-art factory for the mass production of sodium-ion batteries. Last month it started the production of its rapid-charging and long-life lithium-free sodium batteries. This could be a significant boost not only to the electric vehicles (EV) industry but also to the energy storage industry.

Abundance

It is estimated that sodium is between 500 and 1,000 times more abundant than lithium in the known planetary resources. In addition, extracting it can be done far more environmentally responsibly than with lithium. According to Natron, its sodium-ion batteries are produced entirely with abundantly available commodity materials which also include aluminium, iron and manganese. In addition, it also avoids geo-political conflicts and the exploitation of workers as the materials Natron require for its production can be procured through a much more reliable US-based domestic supply chain. This is not the case with materials such as cobalt and nickel used for lithium-ion production.

Compared with lithium-ion, producing batteries from sodium-ion comes with pros and cons, but on the face of it, the advantages seem to far outweigh the disadvantages. Sodium-ion is cheaper to produce, though it lags in energy density compared with lithium-ion. However, it has faster cycling, a longer lifespan, is more safe and is non-flammable.

According to Natron, its batteries charge as well as discharge at a rate 10 times faster than lithium-ion and has a lifespan of 50,000 cycles.

Natron is targeting its production, especially towards EV fast-charging, microgrids and telecommunications.