Not long ago, a piece of news about CATL stirred up the market once again. The news states, "CATL is promoting the 173Ah VDA specification lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery cells to automakers, equipped with a standard 2.2C fast charging rate, priced at no more than 0.4 yuan/Wh, targeting the market for pure electric vehicles priced between 100,000 to 200,000 yuan."
Facing a sluggish demand in the power battery market, CATL has sounded the charge once again. This might be good news for the new energy vehicle market currently caught in a fierce price war. However, for sodium batteries aspiring to be part of the game, it seems particularly harsh. The commercial logic behind sodium batteries is simple: they should be cheaper and more stable than lithium batteries. Even compared to the lower-cost lithium iron phosphate batteries, sodium batteries have their advantages. Wang Chuanfu has openly discussed the shortcomings of lithium batteries and advocated for the development of lithium iron phosphate batteries. However, Wang might not have expected that the price of lithium carbonate raw materials would surge to as much as 600,000 yuan per ton.
By 2024, the frenzy over "white gold" has finally returned to rationality, thanks to the joint efforts of various players-those buying minerals, those doing in-house research, and those searching for secondary suppliers.
Now, the question arises: With the price plunge of lithium carbonate and lithium iron phosphate batteries entering the era of 0.4 yuan/Wh, how will sodium batteries, which claim to "replace lithium batteries," position themselves?
Sodium batteries gained wide recognition in the automotive industry in 2021. At that time, CATL achieved a trillion-dollar market capitalization with the introduction of sodium batteries. Following this, other major battery manufacturers also began telling stories about sodium batteries.
As mentioned earlier, the main advantage of sodium batteries is their inexpensive raw materials, as sodium chloride from the sea is abundant. However, after two years, sodium batteries still have a hard time proving themselves compared to lithium batteries-especially in terms of needing commercialized products in the market.
In the current market, there is much news about sodium batteries. For example, in 2023, electric vehicle brands such as Yadea, SUNRA, and TAILG released sodium battery versions of their electric scooters, marking a crucial first step in the commercialization of sodium batteries. However, in the automotive field, vehicles equipped with sodium batteries are few and far between.
By the end of 2023, JAC Jiayue Yuyue (IONIX EV version) officially began mass deliveries. It has a battery capacity of 23.2 kWh, a range of up to 230 km, and an energy consumption of nearly 10 kWh per 100 km. The battery supplier is CENAT New Energy. Around the same time, Funeng Technology and Jiangling New Energy collaborated to launch the first sodium-ion battery-powered A00-class electric vehicle, which also officially rolled off the assembly line. The new car has a range of 251 km, and the energy density of the battery is between 140-160 Wh/kg. However, attentive observers will notice that, in the current market, there are only a handful of sodium battery models, with the mentioned two small vehicles being among them. Even CATL, as powerful as it is, has not disclosed much information about the sodium battery models it introduced with Chery.
How challenging is it for sodium batteries to commercialize in the automotive market?
Compared to lithium batteries, sodium batteries have lower production preparation and technological maturity. Additionally, it cannot be ignored that the majority of the robust Chinese power battery industry is built around the supply chain and industrial chain of lithium batteries, focusing on two main products: lithium iron phosphate batteries and ternary lithium batteries. As of the end of 2023, only 13.5 GWh of dedicated production lines for sodium-ion batteries have been established in China, and the cost is uneven. "The sodium battery industry is far from completing the journey from 0 to 1. It will take another 3-5 years to reach the era of over 100 GWh," said Li Shujun, the general manager of CENAT New Energy.
It's not an exaggeration to say that the heavy-asset, single, and closed nature of the power battery industry limits the development space for sodium batteries, a "latecomer." This is especially true now that the cost of lithium iron phosphate batteries has dropped sharply. The value of sodium batteries must be revalidated. However, one thing is clear: even if lithium iron phosphate batteries are sold at clearance prices, it does not mean that sodium batteries have no development prospects.
Wang Zixuan, the chairman of Zhejiang Qinnan, publicly stated that when the price of lithium carbonate drops to 100,000 yuan/ton, the marginal cost of sodium-ion batteries will lead by around 12%. If the price of lithium carbonate returns to 50,000 yuan/ton, the marginal cost of sodium-ion batteries will only lead by about 5%.
In summary, the main selling point of sodium batteries is their affordability.
Also, because of this characteristic, sodium batteries are more suitable for energy storage than lithium batteries.
