Ecopro to produce cathode material for sodium-ion batteries
It is unclear which carmaker wants to put EVs with sodium-ion batteries on the road—and when. However, EcoPro has been working on sodium-ion-related technology and is ready to “produce immediately,” Lee Dongwook, EcoPro’s technology chief, said at the InterBattery Europe Showcase currently taking place in Munich, Germany. The only reason the company hasn’t done so is the lack of demand.
The global edition of The Korea Economic Daily first reported this. The article also says that “EcoPro believes it has surpassed China in terms of sodium cathode producing technology.” According to Lee, the technology could be as efficient as LFP batteries in two to three years.
CATL was one of the first manufacturers to present its own SIB in mid-2021. Sodium is more readily available than lithium, which is needed for LFP, NCA and NCM batteries. It is also inexpensive, safe, and easy to dispose of or recycle. The challenge is compensating for the comparatively lower energy density and transferring the technology into industrially utilisable and scalable cells.
EcoPro recently received a major order from the battery cell manufacturer Samsung SDI for its NCA cathode active materials, worth the equivalent of around 30.9 billion euros. Ecopro aims to produce 710,000 tons of cathodes by 2027, 180,000 tons of which will be produced in South Korea. The company is currently building its own plant in Hungary and another in Canada with SK On and Ford.
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