No fire and no explosion!WORLD reportedly to mass produce 100,000 A0 sodium-ion batteries for new cars: official rumors
Although lithium batteries are very good, their characteristics are quite easy to catch fire, and sodium-ion batteries have always been considered as successors. Ningde Times, BYD, etc. are also actively using related technologies.
According to “Later Auto” exclusive information,BYD plans to mass produce sodium-ion batteries in the second quarter of 2023, which will be installed in the Qin EV, Dolphin and the new Seagull model. Fudi Battery, a power battery company under BYD, undertakes research and development and mass production of sodium-ion batteries. At present, sodium-ion batteries are in the sample verification stage.
It is mentioned in the report thatThe Wylan that BYD will launch next year is an A0 class small car worth RMB 80,000 to RMB 100,000. A0 class cars are cars with a distance between the front wheel and the rear wheel of 2.2-2.5 meters, such as Volkswagen Polo, etc., and this also means that BYD will increase its market value for electric vehicles from under 100,000 yuan.
BYD may be the first company in the world to install sodium-ion batteries in cars. Another company expected to achieve this result is CATL. It is releasing its first generation sodium-ion batteries in 2021.
At the financial report meeting in the third quarter of this year, Ningde Times said it plans to mass produce sodium-ion batteries next year: “It is already cooperating with car companies and energy storage companies to promote the commercialization of sodium-ion batteries.” However, Ningde Times did not release specific details. Time of mass production and partner car companies.
According to “Later Auto”, only certain configurations and models of Qin EV, Dolphin and the new Seagull model will have sodium-ion batteries. BYD decided in the third quarter of this year that it will put sodium-ion batteries on the car in the second quarter of next year, and its sodium-ion batteries are currently in the A sample validation stage.
The power battery needs to go through the laboratory stage of car research and development, followed by three sample verification stages A, B, and C, which are single battery verification, battery pack verification and vehicle loading verification, and the last of the trial production. platform and mass production platform.
If all goes well, it will take a year for a new battery to complete the ABC verification, and it can enter the trial production and mass production stages very quickly, depending on the maturity of the product and the process. In the three stages of sample verification, if the verification of any link is not as expected, it is necessary to modify the technical plan and return to the problematic link to retest.
Considering that sodium-ion batteries are a new solution that has never been used in cars, its development and testing face more uncertainty. BYD has not previously disclosed that it is developing sodium-ion batteries. BYD’s timetable for onboarding—from sample A to loading in just one year—is relatively fast and there is no redundancy. sodium-ion There may be a delay before the battery time on board.
A lithium battery investor believes that even if BYD’s technical validation is successful, it will not install sodium-ion batteries on a large scale next year: “BYD will only be able to operate sodium-ion batteries on a small scale small scale next year, and check market acceptance.”
The main advantages of sodium-ion batteries over lithium batteries are lower cost and unlimited resources (it should actually be more energy storage). Sodium-ion batteries may not become mainstream in the automotive market, but rather a supplement. It can only be used in niche electric vehicle segments such as the A0 and the cheaper A00 class, which require less range but are cost conscious.
In addition to sodium-ion batteries, the power battery industry is also developing new battery solutions such as solid state batteries. Lithium needs to be used for different solutions for solid state batteries. Although it cannot reduce the dependence on lithium, it is safer and has a higher energy density than existing lithium battery solutions.
The purpose of the birth of sodium batteries is to solve the safety problem of lithium batteries. The biggest difference between these two materials is of course safety, or chemical activity.
Lithium ions are highly reactive, flammable and explosive, unlike sodium ions, which are more chemically inert. One of the biggest features of sodium batteries is safety, and from the current experimental results, sodium batteries are the most in line with everyone’s imagination of “absolutely safe batteries”.
More interestingly,In response to market rumors about BYD’s actions in the connected battery field, BYD officials said that “the recent rumors about solid-state batteries and sodium-ion batteries, after confirmation with the company, are all false information.” Recently, there have been rumors in the industry that “BYD’s all-solid-state lithium batteries will be manufactured in Chongqing and will soon be loaded into vehicles for testing”, “BYD Na Electric has also started entering the battery working condition test stage.” and other news.
