UK firms invest in sodium-ion batteries

British battery start-up Faradion has almost £2m with which to develop sodium-ion batteries following further funding by existing investors Finance Yorkshire, Rising Stars Growth Fund and Haldor Topsoe.

“A Japanese electronics giant”, said Faradion, earlier also provided funding.

Sodium is far cheaper than lithium, and the firm claims batteries made from its cells will be virtually indistinguishable in terms of performance from Li-ion products. It is aiming at applications including stationary storage, automotive and e-bikes – Williams is evaluating a battery.

The firm has a pilot line at its headquarters in the Sheffield University’s Innovation Centre, and a laboratory at Oxford’s Leafield Technical Centre.

If making sodium ion cells was easy, everyone would be doing it. One of the things that complicates the design of Na-ion cells is that electrode materials have to cope with the passing and storage of sodium ions, which are larger than lithium ions, with little damage.

On-route to Na-ion cells, Faridion has developed intellectual property for lithium-ion cathode materials, that it claims could bring down the cost of lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) cells, and is looking to license this.

steve bush

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via Yuichun