US startup Natron Energy has announced plans to build a sodium-ion battery gigafactory in the US. The company said it will invest $1.4 billion to build the factory, which will be located in Edgecombe County, North Carolina, part of the Rocky Mount Metropolitan Statistical Area.
The Santa Clara-based company is exploring the use of the abundant mineral sodium to make batteries that are expected to offer cost and safety advantages over the lithium-based batteries commonly used in electric vehicles today.
The first major electric vehicle in literature was the fictional submarine Nautilus, which debuted in Jules Verne’s 1869 novel 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and was constructed and piloted by Captain Nemo. It was powered by sodium-mercury batteries.
Natron’s UL-listed sodium-ion batteries are available today for a wide range of markets, including industrial power, data centers, mobility, electric vehicle fast charging, microgrids and telecommunications.
“Sodium-ion solutions outperform, are significantly safer and far more sustainable than lithium-ion options,” the company said.
“This flagship manufacturing facility will dramatically accelerate our efforts to deliver sodium-ion batteries to customers seeking safe, reliable and environmentally responsible energy storage solutions,” said Colin Wessells, the company’s co-CEO.
Investors seem to think so, having pumped about $300 million into the company so far. Natron’s backers include Chevron and United Airlines, and the company hopes to raise about $500 million from the private sector in the next six months to help build the plant. The company has also received funding from the U.S. Department of Energy.
The company, which currently operates a manufacturing facility in Holland, Michigan, said it evaluated over 70 sites in nine states before choosing North Carolina. Wessells cited the state’s “leadership in the clean energy revolution” as one of the main reasons for the decision.
Source: Sodium Energy
