“However, our customers are still facing some uncertainties in the return of energy storage investment, so as the pioneer again, we would like to introduce the next generation of energy storage battery, the sodium-ion battery,” William Xu said.
Supply chain, operational performance and lifecycle issues addressed
The three “key uncertainties,” according to the company, are around the supply chain and the global reliance on lithium; the differences in technical requirements for operation in different parts of the world with varying environmental and climate conditions; and cycle life and safety.
With sodium an abundant raw material, Na-ion batteries’ capability to operate at a wider range of temperatures than lithium and CATL’s design of the full solution, including DC block, power conversion system (PCS) compatibility and energy management system (EMS), the Chinese OEM claims it can mitigate customers’ concerns.
CATL believes sodium will be alongside lithium as a building block of large-scale BESS solutions, Xu said.
