Chinese scientist's sodium battery charges in 4 minutes, threatens lithium dominance

Lu Yaxiang, a professor at the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Physics, has developed a sodium metal battery that charges in roughly four minutes and retains 90% capacity after 2,000 cycles. Source: thenextweb The breakthrough, recognized with China's Youth May Fourth Medal, uses a quasi-solid gel electrolyte that functions even when repeatedly bent. Source: scmp

Why It Matters

Sodium is 500 times more abundant than lithium and can be extracted from seawater, offering a domestic alternative for China, which imports 75% of its lithium. Source: thenextweb The technology could reduce dependency on foreign supply chains, similar to China's strategy with memory chips.

Commercial Progress

• CATL signed a deal to provide 60 GWh of sodium batteries for energy storage in Ningde, Fujian. Source: thenextweb
• Gotion unveiled sodium battery products with 261 Wh/kg energy density and 20,000 charge cycles in May, approaching lithium iron phosphate performance. Source: thenextweb
• A grid-scale sodium battery station the size of 15 football fields is powering 12,000 homes. Source: thenextweb

Current commercial sodium cells lag lithium in energy density (150-175 Wh/kg vs. 250-280 Wh/kg for high-nickel lithium-ion), but Lu's rapid charging and Gotion's prototype are closing the gap. Source: thenextweb Sodium-ion batteries reached lithium cost parity by 2027 and overlapping price ranges by 2028, according to projections. Source: thenextweb