BYD & Huaihai launch joint venture for sodium-ion batteries

China's EV and battery manufacturer BYD has launched a joint venture for sodium-ion batteries with its partner Huaihai. The two sides started building the first factory for the corresponding batteries at the beginning of this year.

The joint venture named Huaihai FinDreams Sodium Battery Technology, based in Xuzhou in the eastern Chinese province of Jiangsu, is 51 per cent controlled by BYD’s battery division FinDreams, with the remaining 49 per cent held by Huaihai. The joint venture, which has a seed capital of 500 million yuan (equivalent to around 64 million euros), will manufacture and sell batteries as well as recycle and utilise used batteries.

The cooperation between BYD and Huaihai was already visible before the establishment of the joint venture: At the beginning of the year, the duo began building their first factory for sodium-ion batteries in China. The factory in Xuzhou is designed for an annual production capacity of 30 gigawatt-hours. The total investment in the project is estimated at 10 billion yuan – the equivalent of just under 1.4 billion euros.

In November, BYD’s battery subsidiary FinDreams and the Huaihai Holding Group signed a contract for the construction of the plant. The planned production capacity of 30 GWh per year was already publicised at the time, but no timetable was set at the time. According to CN EV Post, Huaihai was founded in 1976 and is active in the fields of small vehicles, electric vehicles, parts and components as well as financial services. On its website, the company mainly offers two- and three-wheeled electric vehicles.

Sodium-ion batteries are a technology that has re-emerged in recent years and would bring a clear cost reduction in the electric car sector. After all, the low-cost sodium replaces lithium, which has now become very expensive. However, there is a downside: sodium-ion batteries are known for having a lower energy density.

In China, the big players are turning to sodium-ion battery technology one after the other: CATL, for example, is also planning to produce sodium-ion cells. The same goes for the Chinese startup Zoolnasm. A few months ago, the first two small electric cars with sodium-ion batteries went into production in China. These are two small car models. One rolls off the production line at JAC under the Yiwei electric car brand and the other at Jiangling Motors Electric Vehicle (JMEV).

cnevpost.com