One of the pain points of electric cars is their battery : indeed, it is currently equipped with rare or polluting materials such as lithium or cobalt, which cause a high cost. The question of their service life is also problematic, as premature replacement is often synonymous with particularly high bills.

And since we are talking about salt, CATL (Contemporary Amperex TechnoLogy) may have found a solution to these EV battery problems: indeed, the Chinese company is using the Shanghai show to present a new battery with sodium saltmaterial that occurs in large quantities in nature.

New revolutionary battery

Indeed, it is sodium ion battery already promises to be revolutionary as it will allow reduce the cost batteries of electric cars, while providing greater safety in use and better performance at low temperatures.

In addition, she has a theoretical resource of 18 years and 800,000 km, which makes it possible to cover the entire service life of a conventional electric car. However, its energy density is 200 Wh/kg, which will result in a slightly larger size than a traditional battery. But it goes without saying that CATL is working on improving its technology for an even more efficient future generation.

On this occasion, CATL teamed up with Chinese manufacturer Chery to create a new battery brand called Ener-Q. This will allow the production of several types of batteries, including these new sodium ion batteries, which should be installed in Chery cars during 2023. Thus, Chery Auto will be the first manufacturer in the world to use these series-produced sodium-ion batteries. batteries in their electric cars.

Electric cars are more affordable

Chery is also taking advantage of the Shanghai Auto Show, which takes place in China from April 18 to 27, 2023, to unveil two new electric vehicles that will the first to use these Ener-Q batteries with sodium ion technology. The first model is a compact SUV called iCar 03, and the second is a sports model presented in the form of a concept car called iCar GT.

Competitors are also exploring the technology, such as Chinese manufacturer BYD, which may soon launch its small electric city car powered by a sodium-ion battery in Europe: the BYD Seagull.

CATL is the world’s largest battery maker with a market share of 37% in 2022, well ahead of LG and BYD, which each hold 13.6% of the market. Many car manufacturers are CATL customers, such as Ford, Nio, Nissan, Tata, Tesla and Volkswagen, which should help democratize sodium ion technology in future EVs on the market.