What is China's largest lithium-ion battery project?

The project combines 40MWh of sodium-ion batteries with the remainder lithium-ion and is the largest of its kind in China, the firm said, and therefore almost certainly the world.

What is China's Lithium Project?

The project is being developed and managed by Datang Hubei Energy and marks China’s efforts to diversify away from lithium to more abundant sources. Datang Hubei Energy said it had started operating the project on July 2. It was connected to the grid on June 30.

Why is China investing so much on sodium ion technology?

Energy-Storage.news has been told anecdotally that one reason China is investing so heavily on sodium-ion technology is because of fears that, long-term, it could start to be cut out of the lithium supply chain.

Does China have a lithium supply chain?

China does dominate the supply chain today, both in terms of battery manufacturing and lithium refining, but HiNa’s announcement pointed out that it only has about 6% of the world’s lithium reserves for mining, whereas it has abundant reserves of the minerals for sodium-ion batteries.

Does sodium ion cost more than lithium-ion?

The more abundant raw materials mean that sodium-ion has a lower theoretical cost than lithium-ion, at US$5 per kWh versus US$25 per kWh for lithium-ion, according to figures cited by startup Moonwatt in an interview last week (Premium access). But, the industry will need to scale to achieve that.

Is sodium a good alternative to lithium ion?

Sodium holds potential as an alternative to lithium-ion, thanks to its more abundant raw materials, lower fire safety risk, wider temperature operating conditions and higher depth of discharge capabilities. The latter means it can be fully charged or discharged with less negative effects on the batteries’ degradation.