Natron Energy announced plans to build the first sodium-ion battery gigafactory in the US. It will be sited in Edgecombe County, North Carolina, and is expected to produce 24GW of sodium-ion batteries annually when at full capacity. Its investment is $1.4 billion and it will receive almost $30 million from the North Carolina Megasite Readiness Program.
The company said the 1.2 million sq. ft. plant will enable a 40x scale-up of its current production capacity, accelerating technology commercialisation while supporting over 1,000 jobs at full operating capacity. Natron said its batteries are the only UL-listed sodium-ion batteries on the market and will be delivered to a wide range of customer end markets in industrial power, including data centres, mobility, EV fast charging, microgrids and telecom.
Natron claims its patented Prussian blue electrodes store and transfer sodium-ions faster (full recharge in 15 minutes or less), and have lower internal resistance than any other commercial battery. The company’s battery chemistry presents “zero strain” during charging and discharge, 10x faster cycling than traditional lithium-ion batteries and 50,000+ cycle life, it said. The batteries have twice the power of lithium-ion and a round-trip efficiency of >97%, it claims. They are made from materials including aluminium, iron, manganese and sodium electrolyte.
Colin Wessells, founder and co-CEO of Natron Energy, said: “Today is a momentous day for Natron Energy. This flagship manufacturing facility will dramatically accelerate our efforts to deliver sodium-ion batteries to customers who are hungry for safe, reliable and environmentally responsible energy storage solutions.”
