2023, the first year of mass production of sodium batteries
Previously, many research institutions believed that 2023 would be “the first year of mass production of sodium batteries”, and even thought that sodium batteries were “the replacement of lithium batteries” and would gradually replace lithium batteries.With the expanding influence of the industry, 扣式电池封口机 Our business is also constantly spreading, and the development of the market is also gradually advancing. https://www.canrud.com/products/detail/4d67abcef3cd4d19ab3e92ea06725fe3
Until March 2023, the concept of “lithium battery” was still hot.
The capital market is also very concerned about sodium batteries. Statistics show that in the past 2022, a total of 13 stocks in the sodium battery sector rose positively, of which 7 stocks rose more than 20%. In the second half of 2022, from June 23rd to December 5th, sodium battery technology rose from 12 yuan to 54 yuan, with an increase of 350%.
Now, more than half of 2023 has passed, and the statement of “the first year of mass production of sodium batteries” seems to be inaccurate.
At present, there are not many models of sodium batteries on the bus. According to the 372nd batch of Announcement of Road Motor Vehicle Manufacturers and Products issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology recently, Chery NEQ7000BEVJH11L pure electric vehicle and jiangling motors Yuchi JX7001ESMBEV pure electric vehicle will be equipped with sodium batteries, but both of them are mini-cars. To this end, the Securities Daily issued a document saying that the “sodium battery car” may only “focus on mini-cars” in the future.
People in the industry have questioned the statement that sodium battery is “lithium battery replacement”. The Economic Daily published a commentary that sodium batteries still need to find suitable application scenarios in terms of applications. At present, it seems that sodium batteries may not be able to replace lithium batteries.
The share price of Chuanyi Technology has also been a bear in the past six months. As of June 21, 2023, its share price was 24.8 yuan, which has been halved compared with the historical high of 54.44 yuan on December 5, 2022.
Since the beginning of this year, the screenshot of Chuanyi Technology’s “falling endlessly” has been snowballed.
However, this does not mean that the development of sodium batteries has “died down”. For example, Tang Kun, founder and executive chairman of Zhongke Haina, said: “China’s electric vehicles are developing rapidly, but 80% of lithium needs to be imported, and we are still subject to people. This is the logic that sodium batteries came into being.” Compared with the shortage of lithium resources, China’s sodium resources are very rich and need not be controlled by people.
In addition to “getting on the bus”, sodium batteries also have an important application scenario-energy storage.
In January, 2023, Zhang Yongwei, Vice Chairman and Secretary General of China Electric Vehicle committee of 100, said that the development of energy storage may lead to the explosive growth of the long-awaited sodium battery in the industry, and it is necessary to speed up the scale test and demonstration of the sodium battery. He predicted that in 2023, sodium batteries will initially form industrialization.
At present, it seems that this prediction is the most appropriate. Although sodium batteries are not mass-produced, they are “initially industrialized”. Recently, Paineng Technology, Pulit, Tianneng, Penghui Energy, Xinwangda, Funeng Technology, Betray, etc. have all continued to increase the sodium battery track; Enterprises such as Jiangling Group, Xingheng Power Supply and Yadea Science and Technology, including Chuanyi Technology, have also announced a clearer timetable for the industrialization of sodium batteries. As for the problem of “getting on the bus” of sodium batteries, battery giants Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited and BYD are adopting the method of mixing with lithium batteries to speed up the pace of “getting on the bus”.
Then, what are the difficulties in the industrialization of sodium batteries and how to solve them? What is the trend of sodium battery industrialization, and what business opportunities are there?
Previously, the research report “2022 Innovation Drives a New Generation of Battery Prosperity” (hereinafter referred to as the “research report”), which was co-operated by Chebai Think Tank and CICC Capital, has conducted a detailed and rational in-depth analysis of sodium battery industrialization.
According to the research report, sodium batteries will become an important supplement to lithium batteries. Relieving the supply of upstream resources and being compatible with lithium batteries are the main driving forces for the industrial development of sodium batteries. At present, sodium battery is in the early stage of industrialization, and China’s technical research is in the forefront of the world. Sodium batteries are expected to have advantages in energy storage, low-speed vehicles and other fields in the future, and will gradually move towards the automotive field as the technology matures. Improving energy density, improving cycle characteristics, perfecting industrial chain and further reducing costs are the key points of industry development in the next stage.
Driving force of sodium battery industrialization
In the 1970s, people began to develop sodium batteries. In 2011, Faradion, the first British company focusing on the industrialization of sodium batteries, was established. Since then, the research on sodium batteries has ushered in an all-round growth. By the middle of 2021, more than 20 enterprises at home and abroad have industrialized the layout of sodium batteries. China is in a leading position in the research and industrialization of sodium electricity technology.
According to the research report, the driving force to strengthen the industrialization of sodium batteries mainly comes from two points: first, the development of sodium batteries can partially alleviate the external dependence of upstream resources of China’s lithium battery industry; second, sodium batteries are an important supplement to lithium batteries in terms of low-temperature performance, fast charging and environmental adaptability.
Specifically, China’s sodium resources are abundant and have obvious advantages over lithium resources. At present, the proven reserves of lithium resources in the world are about 86 million tons, but they are unevenly distributed, mainly in South America and Australia. China’s lithium resources account for about 5.9% of the world’s total, with salt lake brine as the main resource, and high-quality hard rock lithium ore is relatively scarce. As a result, China’s lithium resources are highly dependent on foreign countries. It is estimated that in 2020, about 74% of China’s lithium supply raw materials will be imported from Australia. Considering the safety of raw material supply, battery enterprises are motivated to find alternatives to lithium resources. Compared with lithium resources, the crustal abundance of sodium resources is 2.75% (the abundance of lithium resources is only 0.006%), and the resources in the world are scattered, and they are widely distributed in ores, salt lakes and seawater. With the development of sodium battery industrialization in the future, it will be able to alleviate the shortage of lithium battery upstream resources to some extent.
