BYD To Build The World's First Sodium-Ion Battery Factory

BYD partners Huaihai Holding Group to create the largest sodium-ion battery factory for small electric vehicles.

The EV battery company FinDreams, which BYD spun off a few years ago, has entered into a joint venture agreement with Huaihai Holding Group for the business development of its sodium-ion battery production. BYD's manufacturing expertise will be used to build the world's largest sodium-ion battery factory for small electric vehicles, while Huaihai's extensive network will provide sales and marketing.

BYD Dolphin sighted in what appears to be Port Klang. Note its right-hand-drive (RHD) layout. (Source: WhatsApp)

BYD recently released the US$15,000 Seagull, a potential Tesla Model 2 competitor in China, which was initially rumoured to have a sodium-ion battery version but was instead released with LFP cells. It appears that the first vehicles to receive the cheapest battery chemistry in mass production will be even smaller electric vehicles, such as the E10X, a tiny product of VW's collaboration with JAC.

The Sehol E10X, which uses HiNa Battery Na-ion cells, can travel approximately 157 miles (252 kilometres) on a single charge and charges in 15 minutes, with cells offering 145 Wh/kg energy density. CATL, the world's largest battery manufacturer, recently announced that it will first use a sodium-ion battery with a density of 160 Wh/kg in Cherry's models.

It is unclear what energy density BYD's first Na-ion battery batches from the new factory will offer, but the fact that they will be in mass production soon demonstrates the manufacturer's faith in the technology. The move is especially significant now, when the precipitous drop in the price of lithium carbonate has rendered sodium-ion battery development and production plans far less profitable than they were just a few months ago.