Battery technology firm CATL has announced a strategic cooperation agreement with HyperStrong, which it said marks a ‘breakthrough’ in the rollout of sodium-ion batteries for energy storage.
The two firms signed a three-year partnership in Ningde, China, which will cover 60GWh of sodium-ion battery supply; a ‘significant milestone’ in the industrialisation of sodium-ion batteries technology.
‘This partnership marks CATL‘s successful breakthrough across the entire value chain for mass production of sodium-ion batteries, giving the company the capacity for large-scale delivery,’ CATL said in a statement. ‘It also represents the largest sodium-ion battery supply agreement in the world to date, ushering in a new phase of large-scale expansion for the global sodium-ion battery industry.’
Strategic partner
As part of the agreement, HyperStrong, a leading energy storage system integration specialist, which is headquartered in Beijing, will become the first strategic partner for CATL in the field of sodium-ion energy storage, with the two firms collaborating across R&D, product applications and project deployment.
The agreement reflects efforts to expand alternatives to lithium-based batteries in response to demand for energy storage solutions linked to renewable power systems.
‘Excellent adaptability’
As CATL noted, sodium-ion batteries offer ‘excellent adaptability’ across multiple temperature ranges, can deliver optimal high-temperature cycle life, generate less heat during operation, and experience lower cell expansion stress.
‘In long-duration energy storage applications, system integration can be effectively simplified, reducing auxiliary energy losses and comprehensively improving overall plant efficiency and economic performance,’ it noted, adding that its expansion into sodium-ion batteries is compatible with its existing industrial supply chain.
CATL and HyperStrong added that as sodium-ion technology enters a phase of large-scale development, both firms will continue to deepen their collaboration, promote high-quality growth of the energy storage industry, and provide more resilient and diversified technological support for the global energy transition. Read more here.
