The biggest Overview of Sodium-Ion Cell Companies 2024 you are likely to find on the internet.

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The market for sodium-ion batteries will be dominated by China in 2024. However, new companies and start-ups are entering the market and providing new impetus. However, new companies and start-ups are entering the market and providing new momentum. This article analyzes which companies these are.

It has now been almost three years since CATL announced its intention to start series production of sodium-ion batteries. The announcement surprised many at the time, but many other manufacturers have since followed suit.

In 2024 the sodium-ion market can be summarized as follows:

  • China dominates the market for the time being: Commercialization is already well advanced and companies are scaling up their production. The first companies, such as Transimage, have achieved cell production on a gigawatt-hour scale by 2023.
  • Practically all major companies are working on sodium-ion batteries: Even if not all manufacturers have positioned themselves publicly yet, it can be assumed that all major cell manufacturers are now looking into the commercialization of sodium-ion cells. CATL, BYD, SVOLT and EVE are known to be working intensively on this technology. However, detailed information on cell chemistry and energy density is only published very sparingly by large companies.
  • Companies in Europe and the USA lack the economic strength for large investments: The market capitalization of sodium-ion battery companies in Europe and the USA is predominantly in the single-digit million range, which makes it considerably more difficult for companies to raise the capital to scale up production. Only Northvolt is in a financial order of magnitude in which it can keep up with Asian companies.
  • The race for the optimum cell chemistry has not yet been decided: There are essentially three cathode materials in competition: layered oxides, Prussian blue analogs and polyanion. A neck-and-neck race is emerging between layered oxide and Prussian blue analogs. Polyanion only achieves very low energy densities, which is why it is currently being pursued almost exclusively by smaller companies.
  • The automotive market is not always the target: The vast majority of companies focus initially on stationary energy storage systems for industry and home storage. In the Asian market in particular, the cells are also used for smaller vehicles such as scooters and micro electric vehicles. Electric vehicles with longer ranges or SUVs have not yet been announced. The achievable energy densities of the sodium-ion cells are still somewhat too low for this.

These sodium ion manufacturers exist:

At the beginning of 2024, there are a whole host of companies producing sodium-ion cells. Most of the companies are located in Asia and in China in particular. China has already taken a pioneering role in lithium-ion cells and at the moment everything indicates that they will maintain this lead for sodium-ion cells, too.

European + American Market

Although there is a lot of research work and the resulting start-ups in the European market, overall there is a lack of experience and capital to set up large factories. In addition, high energy and labor costs and complex bureaucracy make it difficult for Europe to catch up with China. The European companies worth mentioning is Faradion, although it has since been acquired by the Indian company Reliance Industries and is therefore more likely to be assigned to the Asian market. Northvolt should also be highlighted. However, Northvolt was only announced a few months ago, so it will be several years before it is ready for the market.

Things don’t look much better for North America. Although Natron Energy is already selling cells today and their cells are extremely robust and durable, the energy density is also extremely low, meaning that the technology is unlikely to be scaled up.

Number Company Country Chemistry Energy Density
1
Great Britain
Layered Oxide
140 Wh/kg
2
Finland
Other
300 Wh/kg
3
Great Britain
(but Indian Mother company)
Layered Oxide
190 Wh/kg
(Announced Next Gen.)
4
Great Britain
Other
Unknown
5
USA
Unknown
122 Wh/kg
6
USA
Prussian Blue Analoga
17.3 Wh/kg
7
Sweden
Prussian Blue Analoga
160 Wh/kg
8
NOVASIS ENERGY
USA
Prussian Blue Analoga
130 Wh/kg
9
France
Layered Oxide
140 Wh/kg

Asian Market

China dominates the market in Asia. The market is divided into established manufacturers such as BYD, CATL, EVE and SVOLT and start-ups. The established companies have a market capitalization of several hundred billion dollars in some cases and also have the knowledge of how cells can be manufactured. As sodium-ion batteries can generally be integrated into existing lithium-ion production lines as drop-in technology with only minor modifications, the established companies have a considerable advantage over new start-ups.

Start-ups, for their part, are trying to occupy niches and often focus on cell chemistries that have not previously been the focus of major manufacturers in order to gain a competitive advantage through new innovations. How well they succeed in this will ultimately determine whether the companies remain on the market or disappear again.

Number Company Country Chemistry Energy Density
1
BYD
China
Layered Oxide + Polyanion
160 Wh/kg (Layered Oxide)
130 Wh/kg (Polyanion)
2
China
Prussian Blue Analoga
200 Wh/kg
(Announced Next Gen.)
3
China
Layered Oxide
135 Wh/kg
4
China
Layered Oxide
155 Wh/kg
5
China
Layered Oxide
200 Wh/kg
(Announced Next Gen)
6
China
Unknown
108 Wh/kg
7
China
Layered Oxide
145 Wh/kg
8
India
Unknown
Unknown
9
China
Polyanion
Unknown
10
India
Polyanion
170 Wh/kg
11
China
Layered Oxide
160 Wh/kg
12
Japan
Other
222 Wh/kg
13
China
Unknown
Unknown
14
PUNA
China
Unknown
150 Wh/kg
15
China
Layered Oxide
160 Wh/kg
16
TRANSIMAGE
China
Layered Oxide
140 Wh/kg
17
China
Layered Oxide
122 Wh/kg