New Report Investigates Na-ion Batteries

A new report looking at the opportunities for sodium ion (Na-ion) batteries in the market has just been published by IDTechEx.

“Sodium-ion Batteries 2024-2034: Technology, Players, Markets, and Forecasts”, provides in-depth coverage of the industry including coverage of the largest players, granular 10-year forecasts, patent analysis, material and cost analysis, and target markets.

Sodium-ion batteries are not a future tech, as they are already here and in mass production in China. Today, they are used mainly in electric scooters, but the next generation of Chinese EVs will also heavily feature the technology. Although they are currently not as energy dense as Li-ion batteries, Na-ion batteries offer lower costs, better safety, are more sustainable and have some better performance characteristics over lithium-based batteries. These performance characteristics include having between a 5 and 6 times greater lifetime and operating much more effectively in low temperatures.

One of the most attractive features of Na-ion batteries is that they can be constructed from materials that are widely available and less expensive. Sodium is abundant around the world unlike lithium and less environmentally unfriendly to extract. If the Na-ion battery also uses an aluminum anode, that is cheaper than copper and easier to purchase. Elements required to make Na-ion batteries have a much wider supply chain than Li-ion ones. And, although the supply chain differs, construction is very similar, so Na-ion batteries can be fabricated on existing Li-ion battery production lines, making scaling up the technology easier.

Advances in technology mean that energy density of Na-ion batteries is approaching the density of lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cells, which are currently used in some cheaper EVs. Although sodium atoms are larger than lithium ones, a battery will only contain a small amount of the cell mass, and energy density is mostly defined by the electrode materials and other elements of the battery. This means that Na-ion batteries have potential for further density increases in the future.

It has been estimated that a sodium ion battery with a layered metal oxide cathode and hard carbon anode will have around 25 to 30% lower material costs than an LFP battery. The new report looks deeper into the costs of different lithium-ion and sodium-ion battery configurations and finds that there are potential cost advantages, but the exact saving depends on the chemistry being used. In the near term, this is likely to be a battery with a sodium-layered metal oxide cathode with a hard carbon anode, but in the future, the cathode may well improve with some viewing future anodes having a blend of phosphorus, which has a higher specific capacity.

The Na-ion battery chemistry will not be the answer for every application; however, it will be well-suited to complement, rather than displace, the existing and future lithium-ion technologies in many applications.

IDTechEx