The world’s first EV with a sodium-ion battery

A winter range monster, world’s first EV with a sodium-ion battery 

Cheaper sodium-ion batteries are rapidly becoming a reality. It’s the beginning of a “dual chemistry era” as sodium-ion batteries have overcome all hurdles to enter mass production.​ The Changan Nevo A06 is the world's first mass-produced car powered by a sodium-ion battery. It has a CLTC range of about 250 miles and can run with little to no range loss even in -40 degrees Fahrenheit. ​Chinese battery giant CATL and automaker Changan Automobile are preparing to put the world’s first passenger car powered by sodium-ion batteries on roads. And if the launch is successful, it could usher in an era where electric vehicles present less of a fire risk and can better handle extreme temperatures. Following are the important points:-​

Changan will be the first company to use a sodium-ion battery.

CATL also announces 5C lithium-ion packs which will last longer than most cars.

Improved performance in extreme cold weather is just one highlight.

The world’s first mass-produced sodium-ion (Na-ion) battery for cars has entered mass production and will be sold in China in the upcoming Changan Nevo A06 EV. The battery technology, which has been developed by CATL (arguably the world’s largest manufacturer of EV batteries), has just finished winter testing in Inner Mongolia, where temperatures regularly drop well below what most EVs are designed to handle. According to Gizmochina, the Nevo A06 was able to charge without issue at around -30°C (-22°F) and continued operating at temperatures as low as -50°C (-58°F).       

The CATL Naxtra sodium-ion battery will debut in the Changan Nevo A06 sedan, delivering an estimated range of around 400 km's (249 miles) on the China Light-Duty Test Cycle. From there, the battery will roll out across Changan’s broader portfolio, including EVs from Avatr, Deepal, Qiyuan and Uni, the company said. ​“The launch represents a major step in the industry’s transition toward a dual-chemistry ecosystem, where sodium-ion and lithium-ion batteries complement each other to meet diverse customer needs,” CATL said. Reports state that at -40°C (-40°F), the battery retained more than 90% of its original capacity, a level of performance that is very hard to achieve with conventional lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries in the brutal winter test. The CATL Naxtra sodium-ion battery pack is claimed to be the first that's certified for use in passenger vehicles and the version selected by Changan has a capacity of 45kWh, which means it only delivers around 250 miles of range on China’s CLTC test cycle. According to Changan, this puts it on a par with similar entry-level LFP-based EVs, but the cold weather performance is much greater.

The Mongolian testing revealed that sodium-ion packs could sustainably deliver more power in extreme cold weather than LFP counterparts, without the associated range loss. It’s a meaningful step forward for the technology that’s rapidly emerging as an alternative to lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, which currently dominate China’s EV market. Studies show that sodium-ion batteries carry no risk of thermal runaway and are far less sensitive to extreme temperatures. Above all, sodium is significantly cheaper and far more abundant than lithium. CATL sees the mass production of its Naxtra sodium-ion battery pack as the beginning of a “dual-chemistry” phase for EVs, where the right technology can be selected by EV makers for the correct application. For example, sodium-ion batteries may appear on electric vehicles which regularly operate in freezing conditions, although Changan is reportedly considering introducing the technology to its wider range, given the potential savings it offers. From an energy density standpoint, the Naxtra battery is competitive but not revolutionary. It delivers 175 watt-hours/kg of energy density, which is lower than nickel-rich chemistries but roughly on par with LFP. This makes it more suitable for low-cost and low-range EVs as well as stationary energy storage.

Sodium-ion battery packs have also been backed by those against the mining of lithium, as sodium is 1,000 times more abundant and available in a number of geographical regions, meaning the supply chain isn’t controlled largely by one country. On top of this, Na-ion packs are said to be slightly safer, as there is a reduced risk of thermal runaway, while production, if scaled correctly, can be cheaper, offering greater choice to EV makers wanting to lower the cost of entry-level EVs with a lower overall electric range. That said, lithium-ion packs are also improving at a rapid rate and are quickly becoming the better option for both longevity and charging speeds. CATL claims its latest 5C lithium ion pack can retain 80% of its original capacity after 3,000 full charge cycles under ideal 20 degrees C (68 F) conditions, even when charging solely on some of the fastest outlets in circulation. According to Carscoops, this equates to roughly 1.1 million miles of motoring before the battery is deemed to have lost enough capacity to cause concern. By using a cell-to-pack design, where individual cells are integrated directly into the battery pack instead of modules, CATL was able to extract 400 km's (249 miles) of range on the CTLC cycle. But CATL says there’s plenty of room for improvement on the range front. As the sodium-ion supply chain matures, the company expects EV range to climb to 600 km's (373 miles), while extended-range EVs (EREVs) and hybrids could reach up to 400 km's (249 miles). This would cover more than half of the typical range requirements in China’s EV market, CATL claims.​

Where the Naxtra battery really stands out, however, is cold-weather performance. CATL says its discharge power at -30 degrees Celsius (-22 degrees Fahrenheit) is three times higher than that of LFP batteries. Unlike LFP or nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) packs, it reportedly avoids severe winter range loss, retaining more than 90% of its range at -40 degrees C (-40 degrees F). Power delivery is also said to remain stable at temperatures as low as -50 degrees C (-58 degrees F). The 5C in the title also refers to a charge rate that the battery can manage, with CATL stating that its ultra-tough lithium-ion tech can theoretically be charged from empty in about 12 minutes, which should give greater peace of mind to those regularly charging and fearing this might prematurely impact battery capacity. As always, we’ll have to wait for independent testing for real-world results. But on paper, the technology looks genuinely compelling. While the Naxtra battery isn’t coming to the US, it could be especially valuable in places like the Midwest and the Northeast, where EV drivers routinely report steep range losses when temperatures plunge in winter. While lithium-ion batteries aren’t going anywhere, it’s becoming increasingly clear that the future of EVs will be defined by multiple battery chemistries coexisting. That’s how internal combustion engines evolved over the years, giving drivers more options to be able to choose the battery technology which best fits their driving habits, power needs, and the climate they face.