Faradion Announces Major Partnership With IPLTech for Developing Sodium-ion Batteries for Commercial Vehicles in India

SHEFFIELD, England, June 4, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Faradion Ltd., the British company that is a world leader in sodium-ion battery technology, has announced a new partnership with Infraprime Logistics Technologies (IPLTech) for its high energy sodium-ion batteries for use in commercial vehicles in the Indian market.

The news comes just a few weeks after Faradion's first major order from Australia and reflects its entry into one of the most exciting electric vehicle markets in the world.

India has demonstrated a growing appetite for moving towards electric commercial vehicles, driven by the Government's target of 30% electric vehicle adoption by 2030. It has given a significant push to infrastructure by allocating $1.4 trillion for infrastructure to be invested by 2025. This is higher than the UK ($35 billion) and the US ($500 billion) in the same period. Each day, 40km of highways are constructed in India and the market for roads and highways is projected to grow at an annual rate of 36% from now to 2025.

Faradion's sodium-ion technology provides similar performance to conventional chemistries, while replacing expensive materials such as cobalt and lithium with the far more abundant sodium. Unlike lithium-ion batteries, Faradion's sodium-ion batteries have exceptional thermal stability and safety. Further they can be safely transported and maintained at zero volts.

IPLTech is a Gurgaon-based heavy goods vehicle fleet service provider that is halving the cost of infrastructure development.

Siddhartha Das Executive Chairman IPLTech said, "We are driven to minimise the heavy pollution caused by heavy goods vehicles in India. Our full electric mega trucks are the first of their kind to be integrated and deployed in India. We believe that the Faradion technology can provide the Indian market an effective solution at competitive prices," Sid said.

Faradion has seen significant interest in several markets, including the US, Europe and Australia due to its performance, safety and price point. Mr. James Quinn, CEO of Faradion says India was the next logical region for Faradion, given the market conditions.

"Faradion is accelerating large scale industrialisation of its safe, low cost, Sodium-ion energy storage technology. The partnership with IPLTech reflects an important milestone in our commitment to the market and the Prime Minister's Make In India vision, as we also shortly commence manufacturing in India."

For more information on Faradion please visit https://www.faradion.co.uk/

Article in Chemical Engineering Online

Here:

https://www.chemengonline.com/commercial-scale-deployment-sodium-ion-battery-technology/ 

COMMERCIAL-SCALE DEPLOYMENT OF SODIUM-ION BATTERY TECHNOLOGY

By Mary Page Bailey | June 1, 2020 

Although Li-ion batteries are currently the dominant technology in the rechargeable-battery sector, sodium-ion (Na-ion) batteries possess many benefits in terms of sustainability, safety and costs, and are poised to greatly expand their commercial usage. Sodium-ion battery specialist Faradion Ltd. (Sheffield, U.K.; www.faradion.co.uk) — in its largest commercial deployment ever — will provide Na-ion batteries for energy-storage applications in Australia.

Previously, the company had undertaken several prototype demonstrations, including electric bikes, golf carts and small-scale domestic storage applications, but the project in Australia represents a larger magnitude for Faradion’s Na-ion technology, explains Jerry Barker, chief technology officer and co-founder of Faradion.

“Our cell chemistry is based on a proprietary Na-layered oxide cathode. This chemistry provides a world-leading cell specific energy of 150–160 Wh/kg,” says Barker, adding that the company expects to generate cells with greater than 190 Wh/kg specific energy within the next 9 months. Another benefit of Faradion’s batteries is that they can be produced on existing Li-ion manufacturing lines. Faradion has worked closely with Haldor Topsoe A/S (Lyngby, Denmark; www.topsoe.com) in scaling up its proprietary cathode material. With comparable cycling and temperature performance, Na-ion batteries also provide improved thermal stability and safety when compared to conventional Li-ion batteries — Faradion has patented a method for the transportation and storage of Na-ion cells wherein cells can be transported without the risk of overheating or exploding. Faradion’s batteries are anticipated to enter the Australian market later this year.