A German consortium of 15 working groups led by battery supplier Varta has started development of industrial-scale sodium-ion battery technology, as Europe looks to compete with China on the next battery chemistry set to reach commercial production.
The consortium has officially started development on the Entise project, after gaining approval and €7.5mn ($8.31mn) of investment from Germany's education and research ministry in May.
The EU has funded several other sodium-ion initiatives, including the €925mn public-private BATT4EU project, which launched in 2021 to drive battery research and innovation. A undisclosed portion of BATT4EU funding has been dedicated to sodium-ion batteries.
And the European Commission has invested €8mn each in two projects — SIMBA and NAIMA — which are both made up of consortiums looking to bring sodium-ion battery technology closer to production.
Some companies are also making investments without public funding, with Swedish battery producers Northvolt and Altris and US firm Fluor leading the way on commitments — although sluggish international demand for electric vehicles (EVs) has disrupted progress. Weak demand for EVs and low prices for battery materials have weighed on battery makers' revenues, reducing the incentive for research and development into future battery chemistries, such as sodium-ion batteries.
Germany is set to account for 21pc of Europe's lithium-ion battery production capacity by 2030 — the largest share of any country in the region (see graph), ahead of Hungary at 16pc and France at 13pc, according to UK government-funded research group the Faraday Institution.
China leads the way
China is the region with the most lithium-ion battery production capacity at present, and is set to have 395GW of capacity, or 52pc of the global total, by 2030, according to energy watchdog the IEA. And some Chinese firms are also turning to sodium-ion batteries, with the world's largest EV maker BYD and technology firm Huaihai signing a contract late last year to build a 30 GWh/yr sodium-ion battery plant.
Sodium-ion batteries are expected to account for less than 1pc of global battery demand by 2030, according to the IEA (see chart). They are set to be used in a range of applications, from grid-scale storage and transport, to consumer electronics, industry, aerospace and defence. And sodium-ion batteries could potentially power products including toothbrushes, mobile phones and EVs.
Sodium-ion batteries are slightly bigger but potentially cheaper to produce than lithium-ion batteries. The anode is made from hard carbon, which can be manufactured from wood or biowaste, while the cathode can be made from Prussian white, which contains iron — a cheap and abundant metal.
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