In China Electric cars with sodium-ion batteries will be produced in series for the first time: According to the CarNewsChina portal, a copy of the EV3 small car from the new Yiwei brand rolled off the assembly line at the Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Group Corporation (JAC) at the end of December. The battery manufacturer Hina was named as the source. Also before the turn of the year, according to competitor Farasis Energy, production of another car with its sodium battery began at the manufacturer Jiangling Motors EV (JMEV). However, both car manufacturers have not yet officially announced the models.
To date, the majority of electric cars run on lithium-ion batteries. However, the lithium required for this is difficult to obtain and expensive. Despite mass production, experts say a price drop is not foreseeable across the board. Therefore, car manufacturers are looking for alternatives. So far, sodium-ion batteries have been used primarily for energy storage or installed in two-wheelers. The fact that they are now also to be used in electric cars is a recent development.
250 kilometers range
With the new small cars, the Chinese manufacturers have now initiated series production of electric cars without the “white gold”, as lithium is also called, for the first time.
JAC also has a joint venture with Volkswagen, in which the German group has now taken over the majority. This was originally intended to also produce Sehol brand vehicles, which is now followed by the new company Yiwei. However, when asked by SPIEGEL, VW explained that the company had nothing to do with the new battery model.
The Yiwei 3 model is based on the Sehol E10X prototype. Its sodium-ion battery works completely without lithium and has a range of 252 kilometers. The battery can be charged from ten to 80 percent in 20 minutes, has a capacity of 25 kilowatt hours and an energy density of 120 watt hours per kilogram. How expensive the car will be exactly is not yet known.
At YMEV is with Renault another European car company is involved. The sodium version of the JMEV EV3 model is said to have a battery capacity of 21.4 kilowatt hours and can therefore travel 251 kilometers. The energy density of the current sodium-ion batteries from Farasis is even given as 140 to 160 watt hours per kilogram, and the price of the car in the basic version is only 58,800 yuan (just under 7,600 euros). More powerful versions with lithium are also available for a little more money.
Sodium-ion batteries: mobility of the future?
Sodium is the sixth most common element in the earth’s crust and could in the future make a massive contribution to storing electricity in batteries and thus powering cars. The substance has so far been known primarily as sodium chloride, i.e. table salt.
Sodium-ion batteries are much cheaper to produce, but they are also heavier. Large luxury car models cannot therefore be equipped with this.
In China, people are working feverishly on small car technology: the first giga battery factory was opened in November 2022. Last February, the VW holding company Sehol – now Yiwei – presented the prototype of the sodium car for the first time.
Manufacturers in Europe are also taking the technology into account. The Swedish battery manufacturer Northvolt recently announced that it had made significant progress in cheap batteries.