As one of the important directions for the transformation of the dynamic storage battery industry, the industrialization process of sodium-ion batteries is currently in a bottleneck period that urgently needs breakthroughs.
On one hand, due to the uncertainty of the technical route and the incomplete overall scale of the supply chain, the time for mass production and delivery of sodium-ion batteries is still unknown.
On the other hand, although sodium batteries have advantages in diverse applications such as energy storage, micro-cars, and two-wheeled vehicles in terms of theoretical performance, cost remains a major factor restricting the market application of sodium batteries, especially with the decline in lithium prices and the lack of economies of scale.
In this context, sodium battery enterprises need to find suitable application scenarios as entry points while exploring and breaking through in technology and processes, which is crucial for improving market penetration.
However, even in the face of a cooling race track, there are still a group of sodium battery enterprises dedicated to research and development, achieving significant progress and bringing “dawn” to the industrialization of sodium batteries.
High-tech lithium battery observers note that these enterprises have strong self-renewal capabilities as their primary feature. In the premise of application cost becoming a key measurement dimension in the industry, the cost-effectiveness of products and the acquisition of orders are important indicators of the industrialization strength of enterprises.
Among them, Zhongna Energy, focusing on the development and mass production of polymeric anode route positive electrode materials and sodium batteries, launched the “PolyNa 1” sodium battery product priced at 599 yuan in 2023 and signed a mass production supply agreement with a leading two-wheeler company, initiating bulk delivery for its new models.
Overall, several companies partnering with Zhongna Energy, a leading global electric vehicle shipper, have signed strategic cooperation agreements, with cumulative intentions exceeding 7GWh within two years.
In terms of production capacity, on May 22, 2023, Zhongna Energy’s 20GWh energy storage battery cells and 10GWh sodium-ion battery system project landed in Guangde, Anhui; on October 31, the first phase of the 50,000-ton/year production base for sodium iron sulfate positive electrode materials of Zhongna Energy went into operation.
Furthermore, strong financial capabilities are also one of the important factors supporting these companies to be at the forefront.
Behind the scenes of the financial market, on the one hand, traditional enterprises have diversified into new energy projects, such as electronic equipment manufacturing company Chinyi Technology, smokeless coal leader Huayang Stock, and the subsidiary of modified plastic leader Plitte, Haisida.
It is reported that Huayang Stock is deeply bound with Zhongke Hainan, selecting copper manganese iron sodium layered oxide and soft carbon negative electrode, jointly building an annual production capacity of 2,000 tons of sodium-ion battery positive and negative electrode production lines, and 1GWh cell production lines and 1GWh pack production lines for low-speed electric vehicle power batteries and storage batteries for the national smart grid.
Haisida has layouts in layered oxide and polymeric anode technologies and has launched three sodium battery products, Star I, Star II, and Star Source, which can be widely adapted to special vehicles, excellent sightseeing vehicles, as well as home storage, commercial storage, communication storage, and other scenarios.
Recently, the new sodium-ion battery cell developed by Haisida Power and the sodium-ion battery pack developed by Shanghai Pingye Environmental Protection Technology Co., Ltd. are undergoing application verification experiments in the 1.5-ton concept electric forklift project of Komatsu Manufacturing Co., Ltd.
On the other hand, sodium battery companies that have quickly entered the financing process are also emerging. Since 2023, more than 30 sodium battery companies have completed over 50 rounds of financing, with most amounts around tens of millions, mostly in the angel round.
Companies like Zhongke Hainan and Jiatian Energy have received hundreds of millions of yuan in financing, and their financing processes have quickly progressed to Series A and even Series B rounds.
In addition, in the case of unclear technical routes and incomplete industrial supporting facilities, sodium battery enterprises that adopt self-developed core materials such as positive and negative electrode materials and integrate layout strategies are also at the forefront of the market industrialization process.
According to research and official disclosures from various enterprises, Zhongke Hainan, Duofu Duo, and Zhongna Energy, among other sodium battery companies, have all implemented integrated layouts.
Among them, Zhongke Hainan focuses on the layered oxide + soft carbon technology route and recently announced the successful development of cylindrical sodium batteries with an energy density of up to 180Wh/kg; in terms of production capacity, it will cooperate with customers to expand production capacity to over 10GWh in 2024 and expand to the scale of 10-20GWh in 2025.
In terms of applications, in the power sector, on January 5, 2024, Zhongke Hainan and Jianghuai Yayi jointly launched the sodium battery version of the Flower Fairy electric car for mass delivery to users; in the energy storage sector, on December 24, 2023, it delivered 10MWh of sodium-ion batteries to the Southern Power Grid.
3.2V210AH Sodium ion battery
Overall, as market sentiment gradually returns to rationality, the competition in the sodium battery field also returns to competition based on comprehensive factors such as technological strength, product self-renewal capability, financial strength, and strategic layout.
With the continuous landing of planned production capacity and the imminent release of key materials, companies that have the first-mover advantage in possessing mass production capabilities and expanding market application space will undoubtedly win the “crown.”