China to Promote Sodium-ion Batteries During 2021-25

The Chinese government plans to promote high-quality development of its sodium-ion battery industry during 2021-25, the period of the country's 14th five-year economic plan.

China will formulate product and industry standards for sodium-ion batteries in due course to achieve scale, lower costs and improve the performance of sodium-ion batteries, according to the country's ministry of industry and information technology.

China's largest power battery manufacturer CATL unveiled its new sodium-ion batteries on 29 July, expecting to build an industrial supply chain by 2023. CATL's sodium-ion batteries have high-energy density, fast-charging capability, strong thermal stability and low-temperature performance, as well as high-integration efficiency, according to the company.

CATL's new sodium-ion batteries have an energy density of 160Wh/kg. It can be charged in room temperature for 15 minutes to reach 80pc of power. The firm is still carrying out innovative research, expecting the energy density of its next generation of sodium-ion batteries to rise to 200Wh/kg.

Chinese technology company Baidu is considering using sodium-ion batteries for its smart electric vehicle Jidu, according to market participants.

Power and storage battery manufacturers are increasingly pushing to develop technologies using less-traditional metals, including sodium, iron and antimony, in light of rising demand and prices for the widely used staples of the battery industry — cobalt, lithium and nickel.

China's total output of power batteries rose to 92.1GWh during January-July, up by 210.9pc compared with the same period last year, while installed volumes rose by 183.5pc to 63.8GWh over the same period, according to data from the China Automotive Manufacturers Association (CAAM).