Chinese Sodium-ion batteries could become a low-cost rival to Tesla's batteries

Good news! We need more cheap and better batteries! Hina from China!

I also just blogged here in German about this story!

"A popular sodium-ion battery designed by the company Hina and used in cars and large-scale energy storage systems in China matches performance parameters and production quality of Tesla's lithium-ion batteries, finds new research published in Cell Reports Physical Science. ..."

From the highlights and abstract:

"Highlights

• Sodium-ion cell performance rivals established lithium-ion batteries

• High capacity retention observed at extreme charge rates and low temperatures

• Unique NaCu1/9Ni2/9Fe1/3Mn1/3O2 cathode composition identified in sodium-ion cells

• Archimedean spiral method accurately estimates jelly roll electrode length

Summary

Transparent insight into the design and materials of commercial sodium-ion batteries is essential for assessing their maturity and benchmarking against lithium-ion technologies.

We report postmortem analysis and electrochemical testing of the most commercialized sodium-ion battery technology from Hina Battery, which employs a tabless double-aluminum architecture and a novel cathode composition, NaCu1/9Ni2/9Fe1/3Mn1/3O2. This cathode features a distinctive spatial separation of copper from the other transition metals (Ni, Fe, and Mn) within individual particles.

Using an Archimedean-spiral analysis of computed tomography data, we estimate total cathode length with 2% deviation, without additional image optimization.

The cell delivers performance and production quality comparable to state-of-the-art Li-ion batteries: impedance variation across 120 cells is 5.3%, capacity remains over 100% at 4C (25°C), and usable discharge energy above 80% at −20°C, though this value drops to 56% in the charging direction."

Sodium-ion batteries could become a low-cost rival to Tesla's batteries

Cell teardown and characterization of a Hina commercial sodium-ion battery (open access)

Credits: Akku für E-Auto & Co.: Natrium statt Lithium? RWTH Aachen testet | FAZ (behind paywall) "Natrium statt Lithium: Eine neue Batterietechnologie könnte die Rohstoffabhängigkeit beenden. Forscher von der RWTH Aachen haben ein aktuelles Modell aus China zerlegt – und waren überrascht von der technischen Reife."

Figure 7 SEM and EDX of anode and cathode

Morphological and elemental analysis of sodium-ion battery electrodes.