Chinese electric vehicle and power battery giant BYD has officially established its new sodium-ion battery joint venture with local conglomerate Huaihai, potentially paving the way for cheaper electric vehicle batteries.
BYD, Huaihai formally established their sodium battery JV in China for affordable EVs
BYD and Huaihai formally incorporated their joint venture, “Huaihai FinDreams Sodium Battery Technology (Xuzhou) Co Ltd” in Xuzhou on April 30, CnEVPost reported, citing data provider Tianyancha.
It has a whopping RMB 500 million ($69.2 million) registered capital. BYD’s battery subsidiary, FinDreams, owns a 51% stake in the joint venture, while its partner Huaihai controls the remaining 49%.
Primary objectives
The newly established Huaihai FinDreams Sodium Battery Technology primarily aims to explore battery production and sales, as well as the recycling and utilization of used power batteries.
It also seeks to accelerate sodium-ion batteries’ development and production. Even further, it plans to commercialize the innovative battery chemistry to support the development of lower-cost electric vehicles.
For context, sodium-ion batteries are approximately 30% cheaper than li-ion batteries because sodium resources are more abundant. However, it offers lower energy density and a shorter life span than lithium-based batteries.
Upcoming sodium battery base in Xuzhou
Huaihai announced that it signed a new partnership with FinDreams to construct a new sodium battery base in Xuzhou on November 19, 2023.
Huaihai and FinDreams plan to allocate RMB 10 billion for the project, which is expected to hit a 30 GWh annual capacity.
As per Huaihai, that enormous capacity will make the planned Xuzhou sodium battery base the world’s largest producer of sodium battery systems for microcars.
FinDreams will bring its innovative products and services to the table, while Huaihai will leverage its expertise in marketing and application scenarios.
The Chinese partners officially kicked off the construction at the sodium-ion battery production base in Xuzhou on January 5.
