CATL unveils sodium-ion battery

Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd, better known as CATL, on Thursday unveiled what it said might be the world's first sodium-ion battery.

The sodium-ion battery is a relatively new type of rechargeable battery similar to the commonly used lithium-ion battery.

It could soon emerge as a cheaper and resource-saving alternative to lithium-ion cells, said a Citic Securities report.

According to Huang Qisen, deputy head of the CATL Research Institute, CATL's sodium-ion battery can reach an energy density of 160 Watt-hour/kilogram, currently the highest level in the world in this class of batteries, but relatively low when compared with that of lithium-ion batteries.

CATL's sodium-ion battery can be charged 80 percent in about 15 minutes at room temperature. The discharge retention rate will still be above 90 percent in environments with temperatures below-20 C.

"Sodium-ion batteries are compatible and complement lithium-ion batteries. Diversified technical routes are also an important guarantee for the long-term development of the industry," said Robin Zeng Yuqun, chairman of CATL, in an online launch event on Thursday.

"Some people may say the battery chemistry system will hardly see any more breakthroughs, and that improvements can be made only in the physical structure. But we believe that the world of electrochemistry is like the energy cube, where there are still a lot of unknowns for us to discover," he said.

On Thursday, CATL also announced the launch of AB battery system, which can realize the integration and mixed-use of sodium-ion batteries and lithium-ion batteries, so as to supplement each other to meet a range of needs.

CATL also said it is developing the next-generation sodium-ion batteries with an energy density of over 200Wh/kg. It has already started industrial deployment of its sodium-ion battery and plans to form a basic industry chain in 2023.

The Ningde, Fujian province-based company, which supplies batteries to automakers including Tesla Inc, Volkswagen AG and Geely, saw its stock price soar 6.05 percent to 556.8 yuan ($86.14) per share on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange on Thursday.

"One of the important reasons that CATL develops sodium-ion batteries might be that there is a high risk of safety in the lithium-ion battery industry chain due to the country's high dependence on overseas sources," said Shao Yuanjun, a senior analyst with CCID Consulting.

A report from the US Geological Survey suggested that Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Australia and the United States boast the world's largest lithium resources.

"With such shortage (in China), the price of lithium battery raw materials will skyrocket, which will have an impact on the industry chain. CATL's move on sodium-ion battery suggests the company is prepared to increase the diversity and choice of products in advance,"Shao said.

The performance of sodium-ion batteries is between that of lithium-ion batteries and lead-acid batteries. "With the gradual reduction in costs, sodium batteries may replace lead-acid batteries in low-speed electric vehicles and other fields," he said.

GF Securities predicted in a report that domestic demand for potential applications of sodium-ion batteries will be in the order of 123 gigawatt-hours, with sales revenues of around 53.7 billion yuan by 2025.

However, the report also stated the energy density of sodium-ion batteries is only about 50 percent of lithium-ion batteries. And the potential for sodium-ion batteries' commercialization remains to be explored.

"The supply chain supporting facilities for lithium-ion batteries are not mature. The product performance, cost control, and adaptation application scenarios of such batteries need to be further tested," said Yin Zhongshu, an analyst with GF Securities.