Kunpeng Project
Text丨Li Hongli
Editor丨Undertaken
Sodium battery technology is developing faster and faster, and has been applied in the field of new energy vehicles and energy storage. From the perspective of the enterprises in the layout of each link, the sodium battery industry chain is gradually moving towards a synergistic effect, and the prototype of each supporting link has emerged.
Since the beginning of 2024, good news about sodium batteries has been coming. In the field of energy storage, on January 30, the new power energy storage battery "Guosheng Sodium Power No. 1" was officially released. On January 28, the first large-capacity and high-energy-density nano-solid-state sodium-ion battery pilot product rolled off the production line of the nano-scale solid-state battery pilot production line of the Nikola Science and Technology Industry Research Institute in Tongnan High-tech Zone, Chongqing.
In the field of new energy vehicles, the mass-produced models of sodium batteries have also landed this year. On January 5, JAC Yttrium, a new energy vehicle brand under JAC Group, officially delivered the sodium-electric version of the Huaxian electric vehicle, the world's first mass-produced model of sodium batteries, to users. Just one week before JAC Yttrium was delivered to users (December 28, 2023), the JMC Yizhi EV3 (Youth Edition) model equipped with Funeng Technology's sodium-ion battery was also officially rolled off the assembly line.
With the rapid development of the sodium battery industry, will it become a replacement product for lithium batteries?
The development of the sodium battery industry has entered a critical year
The fields of energy storage and new energy vehicles are advancing simultaneously
As far as the nano-scale solid-state battery off the Tongnan pilot line is concerned, the battery is based on the high-performance positive and negative electrode materials independently developed by Nikola Science and Technology Industry Research Institute, combined with advanced technologies such as nano-modification of the anode surface, low-temperature electrolyte formula and in-situ curing of electrolyte, and the energy density of the battery reaches 160 180 Wh kg, which is equivalent to the energy density of lithium iron phosphate batteries.
According to Tang Yongfu, chief scientist of Nikola Science and Technology Industry Research Institute and professor of Yanshan University, "the large-capacity, high-energy-density nano-solid-state sodium-ion battery we developed has low cost, high safety, long cycle life and good low-temperature performance, which is especially suitable for energy storage batteries and low-speed electric vehicles in cold and high-latitude areas." ”
2024 is a critical year for the development of sodium batteries. Economist Yu Fenghui said that the energy density of sodium batteries has reached the same level as lithium iron phosphate batteries, indicating that substantial progress has been made in the research and development of sodium-ion battery technology in China. "The successful research and development of this battery indicates that sodium-ion batteries may become an important supplement or replacement for lithium-ion batteries, and it is of strategic significance to alleviate the pressure on lithium resources.
The application of sodium batteries in the field of energy storage is also advancing simultaneously. On January 25, Datang's 50MW 100MWh sodium-ion energy storage project started at Xiongkou Farm in Qianjiang, Hubei Province. The project has a total investment of 200 million yuan, covers an area of 30 acres, and the owner is Datang Hubei Energy Development, with an installed capacity of 50MW and 100MWh.
On January 12, Jiangsu Huadian, a subsidiary of China Huadian, issued a bidding announcement for the EPC general contracting of the 200MW 400MWh energy storage project of Guanyun for centralized photovoltaic construction. Among them, the project contains a 5MW 10MWh sodium-ion energy storage system.
On January 4, BYD (Xuzhou) sodium-ion battery project started construction in Xuzhou Economic and Technological Development Zone. The project is jointly built by BYD's Fodi Battery and Huaihai Holding Group, with a planned total investment of 10 billion yuan and an annual production capacity of 30GWh, mainly producing sodium-ion battery cells and PACK and other related supporting products, and will become the world's largest supplier of sodium electric systems for mini vehicles.
At the Huawei Digital Power 2024 Top 10 Site Energy Trends Conference held on January 19, Li Shaolong, President of Huawei's Site Energy Domain, made it clear that in the context of carbon neutrality, green technology innovation is surging, and the site energy industry is ushering in growth and transformation. "The diversification of energy storage technology and the emergence of new materials such as sodium batteries have further broadened the application scenarios of energy storage. ”
Some low-end lithium battery markets may be replaced
It should be pointed out that Jiangling Group's Jiangling Yizhi EV3 and JAC Yttrium's Flower Fairy electric vehicles are focused on the low-end A00 class models, and the previous CATL announced that the Chery models are also A00 level, which means that the current sodium-ion battery models are all micro pure electric vehicles, which is not at all a competitive platform with the latest layout of the current major battery manufacturers with a range of thousands of kilometers, but there may be alternative pressure on some low-end lithium battery vehicle products.
Taking the Wuling Hongguang MINI EV, which has been the sales leader of Chinese brand pure electric vehicles for 28 consecutive months, as an example, the configuration information of the third-generation Macaron of Wuling Hongguang MINIEV shows that the new car will provide three endurance versions of 120km, 170km and 215km, with a matching capacity of 17The 3kWh lithium iron phosphate battery pack has a slow charging time of 5 hours and a tributary fast charging time of only 35 minutes. The JMC Yizhi EV3 has a range of 251 kilometers and a battery energy density of 140 160Wh kg. The Flower Fairy electric vehicle adopts a honeycomb battery safety structure, with an energy density of 140Wh kg and a capacity of 23 for the entire battery pack2kWh, CLTC cruising range of 230km, 100km power consumption level of about 10 kWh.
In addition, compared to the poor performance of lithium electric vehicles at low temperatures, the sodium-ion batteries equipped with the above two sodium battery models can also work normally in the temperature range of -40 to 80. According to the official disclosure data, JAC Yttrium is a sodium electric version of the "Flower Fairy" and JMC Yizhi EV3 in terms of low temperature performance, the discharge capacity retention rate of minus 20 can reach more than 90%, and it has a certain competitiveness in fast charging, from 10% fast charging to 80% It only takes 20 minutes.
Throughout the development process of lithium battery for more than 30 years, the initial stage of development is also focused on small and micro models, in recent years, the medium and large SUVs represented by "Wei Xiaoli" have gradually increased, if in accordance with the development rhythm of lithium batteries, the initial development of sodium batteries is also started from small and micro models, so that with the continuous optimization and upgrading of sodium battery technology, the first thing to affect is to focus on the market share of lead-acid batteries and lithium iron phosphate batteries in the low-end market.
From the perspective of China and even the world, the new energy vehicle industry has just completed the process of 0 to 1, and there is still some distance from real maturity. Xia Shunli, chairman of JAC, publicly said that sodium-ion batteries are energy solutions that take into account both cost and performance, and are expected to form a complementary industrial pattern with lithium iron phosphate batteries, becoming a low-cost solution to boost the popularity of popular electric vehicles.
Xia Shunli's statement is still mild, there are many industry insiders said that the maturity of sodium-ion battery technology is bound to eat a part of the lithium iron phosphate market cake, the future of low-end micro electric vehicles or electric bicycles are expected to be replaced by sodium electricity, with the breakthrough of technology, sodium electricity is also likely to advance to high-end models, threatening ternary lithium battery and high-end lithium iron phosphate market.
Mo Ke, chief analyst of real lithium research, told this magazine that the positioning of sodium-ion battery vehicles by car companies should be based on small and micro vehicles, and sodium-ion batteries should be the main focus on micro vehicles in the electric vehicle market. "After the maturity of sodium-ion battery technology, it will definitely eat part of the cake in the lithium iron phosphate market, and this part of the micro electric vehicle will be the world of sodium electricity in the future. ”
The pattern of sodium electricity industry chain has taken shape
There are still many challenges to long-term development
For the sodium battery industry, large manufacturers have begun to invest in real gold. On January 4, BYD's Xuzhou sodium-ion battery project was officially launched, with a total investment of 10 billion yuan, and the production base will mainly produce sodium-ion battery cells and PACK and other related supporting products, with a planned annual production capacity of 30GWh (gigawatt hours). In addition, on January 4, lithium hexafluorophosphate company Polyfluoride replied to investors' questions, saying that it has completed the construction of a sodium-ion battery research and development system and built a sodium-ion battery pilot production line.
In addition to the efforts of battery-end enterprises, industrial chain companies that match the positive and negative extremes, separators, and electrolytes are also ready to move. Judging from recent trends, on January 10, Xuetian Salt, which is mainly engaged in salt chemical products, announced that it plans to invest 3900690,000 yuan to build a 10,000-ton battery-grade soda ash project, with a planned investment of 44.5 billion yuan to build a new 600,000-ton-a-year MVR salt production unit project. On December 19, 2023, Transart Technology said on the investor interactive platform that the company's sodium-ion battery phase I project is currently progressing normally, and various downstream customers are actively developing.
From the perspective of the enterprises in the layout of each link, the sodium battery industry chain is gradually moving towards a synergistic effect, and the prototype of each supporting link has emerged. For example, beiteri, a leading anode material company, recently said in a survey with relevant institutions that the company's sodium-ion battery cathode and anode materials have passed the certification of some domestic customers, obtained orders of more than one ton, and have the conditions for mass production and supply. GEM also previously said that the company already has a production capacity of 10,000-ton sodium-ion battery precursor materials and sodium-ion battery cathode materials.
Yu Fenghui said that sodium resources are abundant and the cost is low, which will help reduce the cost of battery manufacturing and increase the company's competitive advantage in the new energy battery market. With the growth of demand in the fields of new energy vehicles and energy storage, diversified battery technology routes have become an inevitable trend, and sodium-ion batteries have attracted enterprises as a potential alternative. **The support for the new energy industry and the encouragement of new materials and technologies have also prompted enterprises to increase R&D investment and seize the future market highland.
The cost-side advantage is also one of the main reasons for the popularity of sodium electricity, and the reserves of sodium are about 1,350 times that of lithium. According to Asian Metal, as of January 29, 2023, the domestic sodium carbonate (soda ash)** was about 2,765 yuan, while the lithium carbonate** was about 4720,000 tons. Although lithium battery ** is continuing to decline, sodium battery still has a higher cost advantage than lithium battery.
In addition, safety and high and low temperature resistance are also another major competitive barrier for sodium electricity. According to the CICC research report, the sodium-ion battery has higher internal resistance, lower current in short-circuit voltage, and lower instantaneous heating; There is no over-discharge of sodium battery, and it can be discharged to 0V without affecting subsequent use. Sodium is more easily passivated and deactivated when the electric heat is runaway, so the safety test performance is better. The normal temperature range of sodium electricity mentioned above is about -40 80, and the capacity retention rate of some products can be maintained at about 90% at -20, which is also significantly higher than the capacity retention rate of lithium iron phosphate of 60% and 70%.
Zeng Tao, chief analyst of electric new and public environmental protection of the research department of CICC, once told this magazine that from the perspective of downstream applications, sodium batteries may first be used in low-energy-density scenarios such as energy storage, two-wheeled vehicles, and A00 models, and are expected to be gradually extended to vehicle-grade applications with higher battery life.
According to Xinchun information data, the demand for energy storage batteries and two-wheeled vehicles in 2021 will be about 37GWh 10GWh, and it is expected that by 2025, the demand for energy storage two-wheeled vehicles will be about 240GWh and 28GWh respectively, corresponding to CAGR of about 60% and 29% respectively. According to Jiangsu Xiangying's estimates, by 2025, if the penetration rate of sodium electricity in energy storage and two-wheeled vehicles reaches 30% and 50% respectively, there will be 80GWh and 14GWh of sodium electricity demand.
However, although the development of the sodium-ion battery industry has great potential, there are still many challenges and pain points in order to replicate the rapid development path of lithium-ion batteries. In Yu Fenghui's view, although the energy density of sodium-ion batteries has been improved, it still needs to be further optimized to be close to or comparable to high-end lithium-ion batteries, and at the same time solve the problems of cycle life and rate performance. Just like the initial development stage of lithium-ion batteries, sodium-ion batteries need to establish a complete industrial chain system, including raw material mining, stable production of key materials such as positive and negative electrode materials, electrolytes, and separators. The standard specifications, safety testing, and market access mechanisms for sodium-ion batteries have yet to be improved, which is critical for their large-scale commercial application.
From the perspective of the industrial chain, in order to achieve large-scale mass production and large-scale production of sodium batteries, it is necessary to make up for the shortcomings in the following links: ensure the stability of sodium, aluminum, iron and other raw materials, as well as the industrialized production capacity of cathode and anode materials, electrolytes and other related raw materials.
Through technology research and development and process innovation, the consistency and stability of the battery are improved, the cost is reduced, and the service life is prolonged. Develop special production equipment and technology suitable for the production of sodium-ion batteries to improve production efficiency and product quality. Actively explore the downstream application market, strengthen cooperation with end users such as new energy vehicles and energy storage power stations, and jointly promote the application demonstration and market popularization of sodium-ion batteries. Yu Fenghui further said.
(The ** mentioned in the article is for example only and does not make a recommendation for buying and selling.) ）