Lithium has been the go-to metal for battery production for more than 30 years, powering appliances from phones to cars. Now, sodium is giving it a run for its money as a less expensive and more sustainable alternative.
Leading the charge is Natron, an American battery maker that announced plans to invest $1.4 billion in constructing a large gigafactory solely for producing its trademark sodium-ion batteries.
No timeline has been released yet, but once at full capacity, the factory is expected to support over 1,000 jobs and scale the company's production by 40 times. It will be the first of its kind in the nation, according to Electrek.
Natron opened its first major factory back in April in Holland, Michigan, and has serviced data centers, microgrids, telecoms, and EV fast chargers — all with sodium, not lithium. The new factory will be built in Edgecombe County, North Carolina, and is supported in part by a grant from the state's Department of Commerce, which recognizes the expected impact on the region's economy, reported Electrek.
"We are proud to partner with the state on this ambitious project to deliver high-quality jobs to the community while advancing the electrification of our economy," said Colin Wessells, Natron's Founder and co-CEO, in a press release.
Not only is sodium a readily available resource — which makes it ideal for high-volume needs like electric vehicle mass production — but its use in batteries is also safer and more powerful than lithium. For example, Natron's cell offers 50,000 charge cycles in its lifespan, and it performs at 10 times the speed of lithium-ion batteries, reported Electrek.
However, lithium-ion batteries still hold the EV throne, despite their high costs and environmental impacts, because of a superior energy density that grants them longer range.
Automakers know this and are finding ways to make sodium-ion batteries more useful for EVs. Scientists around the world are also getting involved, from breakthrough research to impressive new tech.
Plus, the durability and rapid-charging capacities of sodium are giving many hope for an affordable home power storage market in the near future.
"A 50,000 cycle life will make battery backup a very long-term, and thus very low-cost solution to renewable power leveling!" one reader commented on Electrek's article.
"Sounds great for stationary storage," wrote another. "That is a huge market that is opening up."
"Once sodium becomes mainstream, it will be financially stupid not to have home battery storage - it will be that cheap," affirmed a third.
No matter what kind of battery it has, getting an EV reduces your pollution and helps keep your lungs and the atmosphere healthier.
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