The writer Jules Verne had the idea almost 160 years ago. In his book “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea” there is the electrically powered submarine Nautilus, with which the novel’s hero Captain Nemo cruises the world’s oceans. The electricity for this is provided by a generator that runs on salt obtained from seawater.
Back in 1869, salt propulsion was science fiction. Today, however, reality is no longer so far removed from the novel. Engineers and chemists have been working on so-called sodium-ion batteries for many years: power storage devices that do not require the previously irreplaceable battery raw material lithium, a light metal classified by the EU as critical and strategically important. Instead, such a battery uses sodium, which is available in practically unlimited quantities and is also contained in table salt (sodium chloride).
This text comes from the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung.
Large-scale industrial production of the new type of electricity storage system is now beginning. They could be the next big thing in the global battery market. At the same time, the salt batteries offer an opportunity for Europe to free itself at least to some extent from a geopolitically questionable dependency. Because the procurement and processing of lithium is heavily controlled by China. Around two-thirds of the world’s lithium refineries are Chinese. The batteries themselves have so far largely come from manufacturers in the Far East.
“This is good for Europe”
“There is now an alternative to lithium, and that is good for Europe,” says battery researcher Philipp Adelhelm from the Humboldt University in Berlin. He is part of a group of experts funded by the Federal Ministry of Research that is exploring the industrial potential of sodium-ion power storage devices. The chemical companies BASF and Evonik and the battery manufacturer Varta are also involved in the initiative.
One thing is clear: Electric power storage is becoming increasingly important. They are the technological heart of electric cars. Electricity storage is also indispensable for the global energy transition. Because if coal, oil and natural gas are replaced by green electricity, huge battery capacities are needed. They help to buffer the fluctuating power generation from solar systems and wind farms and thus stabilize the power grids.
With the salt battery, there is now for the first time a similarly powerful storage technology alongside the lithium-ion battery, which has dominated for decades, in its various designs. Sodium-ion batteries have other advantages aside from not requiring lithium. Because sodium is available cheaply, salt batteries offer the opportunity for cost savings once they are manufactured in large quantities. Engineers also cite better fire protection, a long service life, lower environmental impact and better performance in cold temperatures as strengths of the new electricity storage systems.
What also suggests that salt batteries are now making a breakthrough: the driving force behind the innovation is the world’s largest battery cell manufacturer CATL with its concentrated manufacturing know-how and capital strength. China’s power storage champion plans to begin mass production of sodium-ion cells this year.
The location for the world premiere is inhospitable: Yakeshi is a major Chinese city in Inner Mongolia, a good 1,200 kilometers north of Beijing, which is feared because of its icy winter temperatures. The thermometer there is currently showing minus 25 degrees during the day – quite uncomfortable, but ideal for showcasing the performance of the salt batteries in frosty conditions.
“Spectacular progress” in development
Here in Yakeshi on Thursday, CATL, together with the Chinese car manufacturer Changan, presented the world’s first mass-produced car equipped with a salt battery. The mid-range model is scheduled to come onto the market in the middle of the year. Many more vehicles with sodium ion storage are to follow. The state-owned manufacturer Changan, which is hardly known in Europe, is one of the leading Chinese car manufacturers.
A disadvantage of salt batteries has so far been their lower performance. But they are now “almost as good as some lithium-ion batteries and good enough for many applications,” says battery researcher Adelhelm from Humboldt University: “The progress achieved is spectacular.”
It is initially unlikely that salt batteries will displace current lithium storage devices. In the automotive market, batteries with a mix of lithium, nickel, manganese and cobalt (NMC) will remain the first choice for large and powerful electric cars for the foreseeable future due to their higher performance.
But salt batteries could become an alternative to another popular variant of lithium batteries: so-called LFP storage, which is based on a mix of lithium, iron and phosphate, has been the fastest growing segment in the battery market in recent years. They are less powerful than NMC-type lithium batteries, but more cost-effective.
Particularly interesting for small electric cars
Unlike the new salt batteries, lithium is still needed for LFP batteries. This battery raw material is currently relatively cheap, but in recent years there have been times with extreme price increases due to feared supply bottlenecks. This could happen again in the future. The situation is completely different with salt batteries: “Even if sodium-ion batteries are produced in large volumes, this will have little impact on the price of sodium,” says battery researcher Simon Lux from the University of Münster.
Robin Zeng, the founder and CEO, believes in the success of the new storage technology: Up to 50 percent of the market for LFP lithium storage could be replaced by inexpensive sodium-ion batteries in the future, the Chinese said last year.
In the car market, salt batteries could be particularly interesting for small cars in the entry-level segment, say experts. The hoped-for cost advantage due to the cheap battery raw material sodium is particularly relevant here and the lower performance is not a major handicap.
However, CATL and Changan first presented a mid-range electric car on Thursday. There are no independent driving tests yet. According to the company, the range will initially be more than 400 kilometers. In the future, up to 600 kilometers should be possible. According to Chinese media reports, the first product has a salt battery with a capacity of 45 kilowatt hours. For comparison: The lithium battery in the basic model of the electric compact model ID.3 from VW has 52 kilowatt hours.
CATL has been working on the salt battery since 2016
No other major battery manufacturer is currently pushing sodium technology as much as CATL. The company speaks with a lot of pathos about a new “era of two stars” – alongside lithium, sodium is set to become the second central battery raw material in the future. The world market leader has been working on the development of salt batteries since 2016 and has invested billions. One advantage of setting up large-scale production: Because the technical structure of salt batteries is very similar to that of lithium power storage devices, the same production facilities can be used with minor modifications.
It is currently unclear whether the number two in the global battery market will also rely on sodium-ion technology: The Chinese company BYD, which is also the largest manufacturer of electric cars, has developed a small car in a version with a sodium-ion battery for its home market, but the number of units will probably be very low. When asked, BYD simply stated that the group’s engineers were working on all relevant battery technologies.
A new large storage facility in Bremen
And where do Western manufacturers stand in the technology competition for the new salt batteries? The failed Swedish manufacturer Northvolt had also developed prototypes of sodium-ion storage devices before its billion-dollar bankruptcy. However, there are currently a number of small businesses in Europe and the USA. The start-up Phenogy from Switzerland installed a large stationary sodium-ion battery in Bremen in the fall, which is used to store solar power and to supply electric car charging stations.
When it comes to lithium batteries, the European industry has missed the boat with the Asians, says Phenogy founder Peter Braun. “This shouldn’t happen to us again in sodium-ion technology,” he warns. He hopes to win data centers as customers for his large-scale salt storage systems in the future. Phenogy, however, does not deal with batteries for cars.
Volkswagen is working on sodium-ion technology
And then there is Volkswagen. Europe’s largest car manufacturer opened its first battery cell factory at the end of last year. It is currently the greatest hope of the young European battery industry. But in the new “Giga Factory” in Salzgitter, VW currently only produces the comparatively expensive NMC-type lithium-ion cells. “Sodium-ion batteries are in development,” says VW. It is still unclear when they will be ready for series production.
“Europe has the opportunity to play a successful role in the market for sodium-ion cells,” says battery expert Jakob Fleischmann, partner at the management consultancy McKinsey. Even if Chinese competitors have already started: “This is a young battery technology, the race is still open,” he believes.
Battery researcher Adelhelm from Humboldt University sees it similarly. The Chinese are clearly at the forefront of the industrialization of sodium-ion technology. “But they are not as far ahead of us as they are with lithium-ion batteries. This is an opportunity for Europe.”
Salzbatterien made in Europe?
However, experts doubt that European manufacturers can close the gap to China’s powerful battery companies on their own. McKinsey consultant Fleischmann expects that it won’t work without “political support”. In the long term, new battery technologies such as sodium storage could also be manufactured competitively in Europe. But the industry will hardly be able to finance the expected initial losses on its own.
“The prices from Chinese manufacturers are currently unbeatable, we have no chance in Europe,” says Adelhelm. He advocates for “temporary protection”, for example in the form of so-called “local content” requirements – rules that stipulate that a certain part of the added value in battery cell production should be European.
Leading industry representatives such as the bosses of Bosch and VW, Stefan Hartung and Oliver Blume, are also campaigning for such requirements. EU Industry Commissioner Stéphane Séjourné is currently working on proposals for a “Buy European” strategy, which, however, has so far been highly controversial among the member states. The Frenchman wants to present his plan at the end of February. Let’s hope that the salt batteries “made in Europe” don’t end up like Jules Verne’s sodium-powered submarine: the Nautilus disappears at the end of his novel in the whirlpool of a huge maelstrom.
