More Sodium Batteries Challenging Tesla Energy Storage Business

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Didn’t Tesla CEO Elon Musk say something about new sodium batteries coming this year? Maybe so, but don’t hold your breath. Lately, the very busy man has been busy influencing elections in multiple states while attending to his number one business of helping the self-proclaimed Fertilization President manage things around the White House. Tesla’s EV sales are falling off a cliff, but no worries, Tesla will always have its Megapack energy storage all sewn up…. Oh wait….

Sodium Batteries Are Coming To The Energy Storage Market

Sodium batteries (aka sodium-ion batteries) deploy salt and other inexpensive, abundant materials. They are also non-flammable and non-toxic. Transferring those attributes into long-lasting, high-performing energy storage systems has been a work in progress, with excess weight among the obstacles. Now all that hard work is beginning to pay off and sodium batteries are beginning to emerge on the market, both for stationary energy storage and mobility applications. The latest news on the mobility front comes from the Chinese startup HiNa Battery Technology, which has been very busy since launching in 2017.

In February of 2024 the market research firm IDTechEx caught up with HiNa, noting that the battery maker unveiled a protoype electric microcar in 2023, alongside the release of its new lineup of sodium batteries. “The low-cost Sehol E10X microcar uses a 25 kWh battery pack made from cylindrical sodium-ion cells from HiNa,” IDTech Ex observed, adding that HiNa commissioned its initial 1-gigawatt production line in December of 2022, with plans already in the works for five totaling 30 gigawatts.

“Plenty of competition, like CATL, Svolt, Farasis, Lifun, DFD, Transimage, and others are currently working on their own sodium-ion batteries to be mass-produced this year,” IDTechEx added for good measure.

Last fall, HiNa also earned a name-check from the firm Research and Markets in a new report posted under the headline “Sodium-ion Batteries Materials, Technologies and Global Markets to 2029 with CATL, HiNa Battery Technology, Faradion, Tiamat, and Natron Energy Dominating the $838.5 Million Industry” (see more sodium-ion battery background here).

More Sodium Batteries For The USA

A US angle also surfaced last fall, though not in a mobility sort of way. On October 10, the Ohio-based battery firm Acculon announced a hookup with HiNa to bring the firm’s sodium batteries to the US market for stationary energy storage.

“This collaboration aims to replace traditional lead-acid systems in commercial and industrial applications with superior Na+ technology, offering improved safety, performance, and energy density. Acculon selected HiNa after rigorous testing of multiple suppliers, recognizing their Na+ technology as superior for data centers, grid modernization, and other critical markets,” Acculon explained of itself.

Acculon also took a poke at lithium-ion battery technology along the way, noting that “industrial and commercial markets are seeking Na+ technology to mitigate concerns about the intrinsic volatility of lithium-ion battery materials and supply chains.”

Sodium Batteries To Lower The Cost Of EVs

Circling back around to the mobility side, last week HiNa announced the launch of a new fast-charging sodium battery for the EV market, stating that it can charge to 100% in 20–25 minutes and last for more than 8,000 charges, even if fast-charging is used exclusively.

As described by the China-centric EV news organization CnEVPost, the new sodium batteries are a step up from HiNa’s initial focus on electric two-wheelers and sedans.

Called “Hina Battery · Haixing,” the suite of four products includes the K150 and K210 for short distances, and the K280 and K350 for logistics transportation.

“Compared with existing conventional commercial vehicle battery solutions, Hina’s sodium-ion battery solution can support greater output at significantly lower costs,” CnEVPost reported, citing HiNa general manager Li Shujun.

What About The USA?

Over here in the US, the Department of Energy has pumped millions of taxpayer dollars into publicly funded R&D efforts aimed at shaking the kinks out of sodium-ion battery technology, with the aim of bringing energy storage costs down, building more resiliency into the supply chain, and reducing if not eliminating toxic materials. It remains to be seen if the IVF-obsessed Commander-in-Chief who occupies the the Oval Office stops the effort in its tracks, but the sodium battery cat is already out of the bag.

Last August, for example, the California firm Natron Energy announced plans to scale up production of its sodium batteries for the domestic market, beginning with a $1.4 billion factory in Edgecombe County, North Carolina.

If all goes according to plan, the facility will have a 24-gigawatt output, about 40 times the capacity of Natron’s existing production line. The company also anticipates creating 1,000 new high paying jobs and adding $3.4 billion to the North Carolina economy over the next dozen years or so

More Sodium Batteries Are Coming … For Your Megapacks

“Natron’s high-performance sodium-ion batteries outperform lithium-ion batteries in power density and recharging speed, do not require lithium, cobalt, copper, or nickel, and are non-flammable,” Natron emphasizes (see more Natron battery background here).

Don’t get too excited about the EV angle just yet. Natron is aiming the 1.2 million square foot facility at the stationary energy storage market, including sodium batteries for EV fast charging stations.

“Natron’s batteries are the only UL-listed sodium-ion batteries on the market today, and will be delivered to a wide range of customer end markets in the industrial power space, including data centers, mobility, EV fast charging, microgrids, and telecom, among others,” the company states.

Natron is getting a generous assist from state-based economic development funds in North Carolina, so this is not necessarily one of those high-impact cleantech projects that Trump and his wrecking crew at “DOGE” can try to wreck by suspending or clawing back funds awarded through federal agencies.

In one sign that the project is moving forward, on March 6, the Czech chemicals firm Draslovka announced a new R&D agreement with Natron. “The partnership will leverage Draslovka’s deep expertise in proprietary chemistry manufacturing to supply high-quality Prussian blue materials that are crucial for Natron’s advanced sodium-ion battery design,” Draslovka explained.

“The facility will serve as a blueprint to expand Draslovka’s operations in the U.S. and enable Natron’s mission of scaling sodium-ion battery production to meet soaring demand,” Draslovka added.

It’s also another sign that competition in the US energy storage industry is heating up. So far, Tesla’s Megapack has enjoyed a healthy share of the commercial energy storage market, but that could change.

The company’s EV business has been wilting under the heat of brand reputation gone sour, but so far the stain has not spread into Tesla’s Megapack stationary energy storage business. That’s to be expected. Brand reputation is probably not top of the mind for most commercial-scale energy managers. They are looking at cost, efficiency, and reliability, and that’s enough to give Tesla a run for the money.

Photo: Sodium batteries are working their way into the commercial energy storage market in the US, offering a more secure, domestic, eco-friendly supply chain along with performance improvements (via CleanTechnica archive).