Swedish battery maker Northvolt has developed a brand new sodium-ion cell know-how and will ramp up manufacturing of batteries within the subsequent few years.

The demand for vital minerals corresponding to lithium, cobalt and platinum has surged in recent times as electrical autos (EV) turn into more and more standard, prompting automotive producers and battery makers to search for options.

Northvolt’s sodium-ion batteries don’t include lithium, cobalt and platinum, which might pose price and environmental challenges.

“Sodium-ion batteries are not new … it’s been talked [about] and being developed for a period of time,” Peter Carlsson, Northvolt’s chief government, advised The National.

“But what we have managed to achieve with this product … it’s really high performance and the highest energy density so far that we have seen on the market.”

Northvolt’s sodium-ion cell has an power density of 160-watt hour / kilogram (Wh/kg), in comparison with lithium-ion battery’s 180–250 Wh/kg.

A high-energy-density battery lasts longer and delivers the identical power in a smaller footprint in comparison with a lower-energy-density battery.

The firm will have interaction in additional product growth and in defining an “efficient” manufacturing blueprint as the brand new batteries could be manufactured in Northvolt’s present factories, Mr Carlsson mentioned.

Northvolt may ramp up the manufacturing of the batteries within the subsequent few years following the completion of the event part, he mentioned.

“If you take a 10-year perspective, I think this has the opportunity to, volume wise, be as big as the [company’s] current portfolio of high-performance nickel batteries [and] potentially even more,” he mentioned.

Northvolt, which principally provides lithium-ion batteries to automotive makers, is getting ready for an preliminary public providing in Stockholm that might worth the corporate at greater than $20 billion, Reuters reported earlier this 12 months, citing sources.

It has secured greater than $55 billion value of orders from clients corresponding to BMW, Scania, Volvo and Volkswagen.

Sodium-ion cell can be extra warmth resistant than lithium-ion batteries, making it splendid for good grids in massive cities as properly utility-scale photo voltaic tasks, Mr Carlsson mentioned.

That additionally means Northvolt may provide its batteries to nations within the Middle East and North Africa area, dwelling to many massive renewable power crops.

“I think it [sodium-ion cell] opens up expansion for both building manufacturing capacity as well as larger deployments in the region and we are just starting conversations around this,” Mr Carlsson mentioned.

“In the light of the big aspirations in the region towards green transition, we think it is a very interesting market.”

GCC nations have been investing closely in renewable power and sustainable growth in a bid to diversify away from hydrocarbon exports.

The UAE, the primary nation within the Mena area to announce a goal of internet zero by 2050, has been funding clear power tasks, together with photo voltaic and wind, because it cuts down on the usage of pure gasoline for electrical energy manufacturing.

Saudi Arabia, which plans to attain net-zero carbon emissions by 2060, is focusing closely on constructing its home EV market to help the transition and develop its native manufacturing sector as a part of its Vision 2030 technique.

“We will follow where we clearly see there is a build-up of demand. Obviously, as the region is also building up an ecosystem, that is very interesting,” Mr Carlsson mentioned.

In September, Northvolt introduced that it might open a $5.2 billion gigafactory in Quebec, which is anticipated to turn into operational in 2026.

North America, which has automotive manufacturers corresponding to Tesla, Ford and General Motors, is the third-largest EV market on the earth behind China and Europe.

However, the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) enacted final 12 months has prompted a number of clear power firms to increase within the area, pushed by subsidies and cheaper power.

“It was very important in our decision-making to invest in scaling up in North America,” Mr Carlsson mentioned.

“Establishing this industry requires a lot of capital and it also comes with pretty big start-up costs. North America with the IRA kind of found an incentive formula that really supports that, and it’s been pretty effective if you see how much investment and activity it has generated.”

Northvolt’s announcement comes towards the backdrop of a rising geopolitical rivalry between the US and China within the pursuit of vital minerals.

“The uncertainty [regarding] where the whole world is going is of course creating very high raw materials fluctuations, and that is never good because it prevents long term planning,” Mr Carlsson mentioned.

The rising “polarisation” of the world is prompting every area of the world to develop its personal EV provide chain and it might have “happened anyway” as automotive makers comply with “just-in-time” manufacturing, the place stock ranges are saved as little as potential to scale back prices, he mentioned.

Meanwhile, global electric car sales are set to surge by 35 per cent this 12 months, helped by authorities subsidies and the tightening of carbon dioxide emissions requirements, in line with the International Energy Agency.

Electric automotive gross sales are projected to achieve 14 million in 2023 from 10 million final 12 months, the Paris-based company mentioned in its Global Electric Vehicle Outlook in April.

Electric vehicles will make up about half of the brand new automotive gross sales worldwide by 2035 because the push for net-zero carbon emissions accelerates, in line with Goldman Sachs Research.

Updated: November 21, 2023, 5:00 AM