We supply leaders in transportation with standard as well as tailored battery cells … Contact online >>
We supply leaders in transportation with standard as well as tailored battery cells
Recycling Lithium-ion batteries. The world needs sustainable batteries. And a plan
In pursuit of establishing a new European industry surrounding batteries, it''s
Northvolt – Enabling the Future of Energy. SE-112 47, Stockholm, Sweden.
Northvolt assembles its first battery systems at Northvolt Dwa, and raises $1.2 billion
Marking a new chapter in European industrial history, the cell is the first to have been fully designed, developed and assembled at a gigafactory by a homegrown European battery company.
Skellefteå, Sweden. Last night, the commissioning of the Northvolt Ett gigafactory in northern Sweden led to the assembly of the first battery cell.
The first cell of Northvolt Ett represents a milestone which Northvolt has been working towards since the gigafactory was announced in 2017. The cell is of a prismatic cell format and came off the cell assembly line on the 28th of December. Commissioning and upscaling of the factory will continue through into 2022, when the first commercial customer deliveries will be made.
Peter Carlsson, CEO and Co-Founder of Northvolt, said: "Today is a great milestone for Northvolt which the team has worked very hard to achieve. Of course, this first cell is only the beginning. Over the course of the coming years, we look forward to Northvolt Ett expanding its production capacity greatly to enable the European transition to clean energy."
The battery cell was developed at Northvolt Labs, Northvolt''s industrialization factory in Västerås, Sweden, which has been in production since early 2020. In the coming years, production capacity at Northvolt Ett will increase towards 60 GWh per year to fulfill over $30 billion worth of contracts Northvolt has secured from key customers, including BMW, Fluence, Scania, Volkswagen, Volvo Cars and Polestar. To these customers in the automotive, industrial and energy storage sectors, Northvolt Ett will deliver cells of varying formats with commercial deliveries beginning in 2022.
Presently, Northvolt Ett in Skellefteå employs over 500 people, representing 56 nationalities.
The Swedish company''s labs form the largest campus for battery research in Europe. It''s here, in a former industrial zone on the outskirts of the town of Västerås, about 100 kilometres northwest of the capital Stockholm, that one of the continent''s best-funded climate tech companies could write the future of batteries.
In November 2023, Northvolt – Europe''s only major home-grown EV battery maker – announced a breakthrough in battery development.
The company had manufactured a first-of-its-kind energy storage battery by replacing widely used critical minerals – such as lithium, cobalt, nickel and graphite – with cheaper and far more abundant sodium – a chemical element which is found in table salt – as well as iron, nitrogen and carbon.
"This is a fundamentally new technology," Andreas Haas, head of Northvolt’s sodium-ion programme, told Climate Home News in an interview.Northvolt''s research labs in Västerås, SwedenBuilding work at the research facility in Västerås
The timing of Northvolt''s innovation took the battery industry by surprise. According to Daniel Brandell, a materials chemist at Uppsala University in Sweden, technology roadmaps in North America and Europe had put this development closer to 2030 than prior to 2025.
While Chinese companies were first to use sodium to replace lithium in batteries, they often relied on other critical minerals such as nickel or cobalt to optimise their performance, Brandell said. Today, there is still limited transparency over the detailed performance and specific type of sodium-ion batteries Chinese companies are deploying.
Northvolt''s sodium batteries, however, are critical mineral-free.
In recent years, concerns have grown over the social and environmental harms of extracting and refining battery minerals. Reserves of lithium, nickel and cobalt are concentrated in a handful of countries, making them prone to geopolitical and trade disruptions, and subject to intense competition. Meanwhile, China dominates the lithium-ion battery supply chain, controlling 70% of global lithium refining capacity.
Sodium-based batteries offer a solution to the electric battery supply chain challenges, particularly for Western countries seeking to reduce their dependence on China for cleantech.
According to 2023 analysis by BloombergNEF, sodium batteries could displace 272,000 tonnes of lithium demand by 2035, equivalent to about 7% of the overall market projected for that year.
In January, the European Investment Bank backed the company with over $1 billion in financing, citing Northvolt''s ability to create the first fully integrated circular lithium-ion battery production facility outside Asia.
At the time, EU Commission Vice President Maroš Šefčovič, in charge of the European Green Deal, said the battery industry was of "strategic importance and a key battleground for global competitiveness".
"Northvolt, our battery pioneer, showcases that the EU has what it takes to build an innovative, sustainable and globally competitive battery ecosystem," he said.The vision: regional battery hubs
Northvolt''s sodium batteries have been designed to store excess power generated by renewable energy such as wind and solar, and dispatch it back to the grid when it is most needed.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) says global energy storage capacity needs to increase six times for the world to achieve the goal of tripling global renewable capacity by 2030, with batteries expected to deliver 90% of that growth.
Sodium batteries, which are around 30% cheaper than lithium ones to produce, could account for about 10% of the added capacity by 2030 and keep rising after that, according to the IEA.
This could enable the creation of regional battery manufacturing hubs, which could help accelerate decarbonisation in emerging economies and developing countries.
"Because we''re not tied to a geography, we will no longer have to rely on lithium from mines in China or South America. We can produce these batteries all over the world," said Haas.
With better resistance to high temperatures than lithium batteries, which are inherently flammable, sodium-ion batteries could help speed up electrification in regions exposed to extreme heat such as India, Africa and the Middle East by providing cheap and safe clean energy storage options.
Several Indian companies, including multinational conglomerate Reliance, are working to produce sodium batteries in the country. They could become "crucial" to India''s transition from coal to renewable energy by making energy storage "cheaper and more accessible," Brandell, of Uppsala University, told Climate Home.
Northvolt said it will finalise its first sodium battery prototypes for energy storage later this year before developing a production line to manufacture them.A Northvolt employee operates a forklift at the company''s research labs in VästeråsThe destination: sodium-powered EVs
Over the last 30 years, lithium has been used to manufacture rechargeable batteries that are lightweight, compact, and yet can store a lot of energy.
Sodium, while cheaper and more abundant, is larger and heavier than lithium, making for bulkier batteries. That means sodium-ion batteries store a lower amount of energy than lithium ones of the same size. That might not be a problem for static energy storage but can become an issue for electric cars, as most drivers want to get more miles out of a single charge.
China leads the world in manufacturing clean energy technologies and sodium-based batteries are no exception. There are nearly 30 sodium-ion battery manufacturing plants currently operating, planned or under construction globally – almost all of them in China. In May, the country put its first large-scale sodium-ion battery energy storage station into operation.
The country has shown that sodium batteries could still have a role to play in decarbonising road transport. Earlier this year, Chinese EV manufacturers launched small sodium-powered electric vehicles (EV) models, designed for short-range travel.
The IEA found that sodium-ion batteries could be used to power two-wheeled scooters and small EVs in cities, where drivers don''t require such long-range autonomy.
About Lithium-ion battery technology sweden
As the photovoltaic (PV) industry continues to evolve, advancements in Lithium-ion battery technology sweden have become critical to optimizing the utilization of renewable energy sources. From innovative battery technologies to intelligent energy management systems, these solutions are transforming the way we store and distribute solar-generated electricity.
When you're looking for the latest and most efficient Lithium-ion battery technology sweden for your PV project, our website offers a comprehensive selection of cutting-edge products designed to meet your specific requirements. Whether you're a renewable energy developer, utility company, or commercial enterprise looking to reduce your carbon footprint, we have the solutions to help you harness the full potential of solar energy.
By interacting with our online customer service, you'll gain a deep understanding of the various Lithium-ion battery technology sweden featured in our extensive catalog, such as high-efficiency storage batteries and intelligent energy management systems, and how they work together to provide a stable and reliable power supply for your PV projects.
