Without using lithium metal, natron's sodium ion battery has huge cycle life, practical power density, excellent safety and ultra fast charging speed . Through cooperation with clarios, the two sides will put into mass production in Michigan next year**
With the contraction of global lithium resources, the existing known lithium energy storage is simply insufficient to meet the expected demand level of the electric vehicle market, not to mention all other industries that want to turn to battery power in the next few years.
Therefore, when the performance characteristics are reasonable, alternatives will be the absolute key. In the past few years, sodium ion battery projects have often appeared, aiming to reduce a small part of the battery market. It is worth noting that China's catl launched a sodium ion battery for the electric vehicle market last year, with a specific energy of 160wh / kg, half higher than the density of lithium-ion battery packs in today's mass market.
Natron, a California company, chose a different target, using different chemical components based on Prussian blue. Prussian blue is a widely produced pigment. It is famous for providing blue, so the blueprint is named. It is widely used in traditional Japanese woodblock paintings, such as Kanagawa big wave by Beizhai.
Natron claims that its design provides a strong volume power density between lead-acid batteries and lithium-ion batteries. The ultra fast charging speed makes 0-99 charges take only 8 minutes, and has a magical life of more than 50000 cycles - 5 to 25 times higher than the competitors of lithium-ion batteries. They are also said to have extremely high thermal stability, enabling them to be transported, deployed and disposed of safely without fire risk.
Natron did not sell this product to electric vehicle manufacturers because size and weight are key parameters for them. Instead, natron's goal is the use of industrial batteries: backup power in data centers, forklifts and other industrial vehicles, telecommunications facilities, etc.