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Sodium batteries: is China sparking a new revolution in the electric vehicle industry?

  • The EV industry is set to be the first to benefit as Chinese companies start mass-producing sodium-ion batteries
  • The easy access to sodium worldwide means production of the new batteries is much easier than the existing lithium-ion models

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China is driving change in the electric vehicle industry as it forges ahead with sodium-ion battery technology. Photo: Shutterstock
Victoria Bela
China is revolutionising the battery business, becoming the first country to make sodium-ion battery technology available to all consumers, as companies begin to mass produce the new energy storage option which is set to replace conventional lithium-ion models.
Vendors have been popping up on Taobao, China’s largest mobile commerce site, offering sodium-ion batteries, mainly for two-wheeled electric scooters.

Qiu Guocheng, co-founder of sodium-ion battery company Beijing Xuexiong Technology, said on Tuesday that the batteries had features that surpassed “almost all battery types”.

The sodium-ion batteries can operate at almost full capacity in cold temperatures, Qiu said – as low as minus 30 degrees Celsius (-22 Fahrenheit).

They also have “an average life of more than eight years” and can be charged for 3000 cycles compared to the standard 500 of lithium-ion batteries, according to Qiu.

A listing of Xuexiong’s sodium-ion scooter batteries on Taobao said its lifespan was five times longer than standard lithium-ion batteries.

With most food delivery drivers in China relying on electric scooters to make their deliveries in all sorts of weather, the advertisements for the battery listings target this demographic.

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