CATL releases first generation sodium-ion battery

On July 29, Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Ltd. successfully held its first online press conference. Chairman Dr. Zeng Yuqun released CATL's first-generation sodium-ion battery. At the same time, the innovative lithium-sodium hybrid battery pack also made its debut at the press conference.

As another milestone in the industrialization of CATL's innovative technologies, sodium-ion batteries will provide new solutions for clean energy and electrified transportation, and promote the early realization of the "carbon neutrality" goal.

Breaking through the bottleneck of sodium-ion battery technology

As "carbon neutrality" becomes a global consensus, the new energy industry has entered a multi-level, multi-type and diversified development stage. The increasingly segmented market has put forward differentiated demands on batteries; at the same time, the research and development speed of basic battery materials is accelerating worldwide, which has opened a two-way window for the industrialization of sodium-ion batteries.

Sodium-ion batteries have a similar working principle to lithium-ion batteries, and charge transfer is mainly achieved through the insertion and extraction of sodium ions between the positive and negative electrodes.

However, compared with lithium ions, sodium ions are larger in size and have more stringent requirements on material structure stability and dynamic performance, which has become a bottleneck for the commercialization of sodium ion batteries.

CATL has been deeply engaged in the research and development of sodium ion chemical system materials for many years: in terms of positive electrode materials, CATL uses Prussian white material with higher gram capacity, and innovatively rearranges the charge of the material's bulk structure, solving the core problem of rapid capacity attenuation of Prussian white during the cycle.

In terms of negative electrode materials, CATL has developed a hard carbon material with a unique pore structure, which has the characteristics of high specific capacity, easy embedding and de-embedding, and excellent cycling.

Based on a series of breakthroughs in the material system, the first-generation sodium-ion battery developed by CATL has the advantages of high energy density, high-rate charging, excellent thermal stability, good low-temperature performance and high integration efficiency.

The energy density of its battery cells is as high as 160Wh/kg; after charging for 15 minutes at room temperature, the power can reach more than 80%; even in a low temperature environment of -20°C, it has a discharge retention rate of more than 90%; the system integration efficiency can reach more than 80%; and the thermal stability far exceeds the national mandatory safety requirements.

The first generation of sodium-ion batteries can be used in various transportation electrification scenarios, especially in high-altitude and cold regions, and can flexibly adapt to application needs in all scenarios in the energy storage field.

Four major innovations support three major directions

CATL's vision is to build a world-class innovative technology company and make outstanding contributions to the new energy industry of mankind. To this end, CATL has made unremitting efforts in three major strategic development directions: first, to replace fixed fossil energy with renewable energy power generation and energy storage; second, to promote the development of electric vehicles with power batteries to replace mobile fossil energy; third, to accelerate the process of new energy substitution in various fields with integrated application innovation of electrification + intelligence.

As the support for the three major development directions, CATL has formed four major innovation systems: materials and chemical systems, system structure, extreme manufacturing, and business models, forming the ability to quickly transform from cutting-edge basic research to industrial applications and then to large-scale commercialization.

Basic research on materials and chemical systems is key. Zeng Yuqun, chairman of CATL, said that some people believe that it is difficult to innovate the chemical system of batteries and that only some improvements can be made in the physical structure. "But we believe that the world of electrochemistry is like an energy Rubik's Cube, where the unknown far outweighs the known, and we are happy to explore its mysteries."

Zeng Yuqun introduced that CATL has built a high-throughput material integrated computing platform to simulate and design materials at the atomic level. With a deep understanding of the principles, advanced algorithms and powerful computing power, it has found the combination points of various material genes and developed various materials that are more suitable for sodium-ion batteries, pushing them into the fast track of industrialization and continuously iterating. The energy density research and development target of the next generation of sodium-ion batteries is above 200Wh/kg.

In terms of system innovation, CATL has taken a different approach to battery system integration and developed an AB battery system solution, which mixes sodium-ion batteries and lithium-ion batteries in a certain proportion and integrates them into the same battery system. The BMS precise algorithm is used to balance the different battery systems. The AB battery system solution not only makes up for the energy density shortcomings of sodium-ion batteries at this stage, but also brings out its advantages of high power and good low-temperature performance. Based on this system structure innovation, more application scenarios can be expanded for lithium-sodium battery systems.

Multi-dimensional layout promotes the industrialization of sodium-ion batteries

At the press conference, Dr. Huang Qisen, deputy director of CATL Research Institute, introduced that in terms of manufacturing technology, sodium-ion batteries can achieve perfect compatibility with lithium-ion battery production equipment and processes, and production lines can be quickly switched to complete rapid capacity layout. At present, CATL has started the corresponding industrialization layout, and the basic industrial chain will be formed in 2023.

CATL said that it welcomes relevant research institutions, upstream material suppliers and downstream battery application terminals to participate and jointly accelerate the improvement and development of the sodium-ion battery industry chain.

Zeng Yuqun believes that "carbon neutrality" has created a trillion-watt-hour battery demand, promoted the vigorous development of the new energy industry, and continuously generated new application scenarios, providing a stage for different technologies to be displayed. Diversified technical routes will also help the industry develop stably in the long term.