Citic Securities: what is the application prospect of sodium ion battery with both resource and cost advantages?

Sodium ion battery research began in 1970, in recent years began to usher in the industrial layout, in the life cycle of the introduction stage. In the great era of energy reform, sodium ion battery has obvious advantages in resource richness and cost. In the next few years, with the increase of industrial investment, the technology is mature and the industrial chain is gradually improved. It is expected to achieve commercial application in energy storage and other fields. Lithium-ion batteries, lead-acid batteries and other mature energy storage technology to form a certain supplement. Recommendation: Ningde era (the global lithium leader of sodium ion battery is being developed), Huayang shares (stake in China Kehai Sodium), Xin Wanda (patent for sodium ion battery has been reserved), recommended attention: Zhejiang Medicine (participation in sodium innovative energy).

What is a sodium ion battery?

The research of sodium ion battery can be traced back to 1970s. in the past 10 years, related research ushered in a blowout, and the industry began to layout. Similar to the rocking-chair working principle of lithium-ion batteries, it mainly depends on the movement of sodium ions between the positive and negative electrodes. According to the literature report, the material system of sodium ion battery is roughly as follows: polyanion material, Prussian blue system material, iron manganese copper and other metal oxides are selected for positive electrode, carbon-based material, excessive metal oxide and alloy material are selected for negative electrode, sodium hexafluorophosphate and other sodium salt are selected for electrolyte, aluminum foil can be selected for negative current collector, and there is obvious difference between battery material system and lithium ion battery.

The advantage of sodium ion battery: the reserve of sodium element is richer and the cost is lower.

1) rich in resources: the crustal abundance of sodium ions in the main charge carriers of sodium ion batteries is about 2.36%, which is much higher than 0.002% of lithium ions, and is rich in resources. At the same time, various countries can use seawater to prepare sodium salts, so the resources are evenly distributed.

2) lower cost: sodium ion compounds are highly available, so the price is stable and low, about 250 yuan / ton, which is the price of battery-grade lithium carbonate 1x50. At present, the price of battery-grade lithium carbonate has risen from 50,000 yuan / ton at the beginning of 2021 to 85500 yuan / ton, which fluctuates greatly. According to CNKHNA, the BOM cost of sodium ion battery is about 30% lower than that of lithium battery, and the cost advantage is obvious.

3) Sodium ion battery has relatively stable electrochemical performance and is safer to use.

The disadvantage of sodium ion battery is that the energy density is low and it is still in the introduction stage.

1) low energy density: the atomic mass of sodium element is 3.3 times that of lithium element, so that the energy density of sodium ion battery is only about 50% of lithium ion battery. At present, the energy density of sodium ion battery cell is only 120Whhand kg, which is significantly lower than that of lithium iron phosphate battery 180Wh/kg and ternary battery 240Wh/kg.

2) the cycle life is short: because the ion radius of sodium ion is about 1.3 times that of lithium ion, it is more difficult to detach / intercalate. The maximum number of cycles of sodium ion battery is about 1500, which is significantly lower than that of lithium iron phosphate battery (6000) and ternary battery (3000). It is expected to be further improved in the future.

3) the industrial chain is still not perfect: sodium ion batteries are still in the process of commercial exploration and improvement, engineering equipment and supply chain facilities have not yet been formed, and product performance, cost control and adaptive application scenarios need to be further tested.

What is the application prospect of sodium ion battery?

In recent years, international well-known laboratories and some enterprises have picked up the research and development of sodium battery with the maturity of production technology and the innovation of material system, the application technology of sodium ion battery is expected to be improved. With the advantage of cost, sodium ion battery is expected to be commercialized in energy storage, construction machinery, communication base station, two-wheeler and other scenarios with low energy density, which will supplement the mature energy storage technologies such as lithium-ion battery and lead-acid battery. At present, there are nearly 20 domestic and foreign enterprises layout sodium ion battery industrial production, foreign enterprises mainly include British FARADION, American Natron Energy, French NAIADES, Japanese Kishida Chemical, Panasonic, Mitsubishi and so on. Domestic sodium innovation energy, China Kehai Sodium, Ningde era also have layout.

"risk factors:

The progress of sodium-ion battery industrialization is not as expected, the cost of lithium-ion battery is lower than expected, and the energy storage policy is not as expected.

"Investment advice:

In recent years, the industry has begun to actively layout sodium-ion batteries. Although the industry is still in the introduction stage, sodium-ion batteries have obvious advantages in resource richness and cost. In the next few years, with the maturity of technology and the gradual improvement of the industrial chain, it is expected to achieve commercial application in energy storage and other fields, and form a certain supplement to mature energy storage technologies such as lithium-ion batteries and lead-acid batteries. Recommendation: Ningde era (the global lithium leader of sodium ion battery is being developed), Huayang shares (stake in China Kehai Sodium), Xin Wanda (patent for sodium ion battery has been reserved), recommended attention: Zhejiang Medicine (participation in sodium innovative energy).