Charge of the sodium-ion brigade: How India can power e-mobility industry

KPIT Technologies may not ring a bell. But this Pune-based company, which has global German car-makers as clients, has been working quietly for six years on sodium-ion battery technology to replace lithium-ion in certain segments of the auto market. Executives in the company say they have started scouting for partners to manufacture the battery based on their technology in India, which could take 12-15 months after the agreement is signed.
 
Keeping KPIT company is business behemoth Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), which has made a big gamble in renewables. Late last year, it acquired UK-based start-up Faradion, a pioneer in this space, for $136 million. The company was looking for cash to move from its prototype to building a gigawatt-scale manufacturing plant. RIL has promised to build such factories as part of its mega plan.

 
Indeed, India could well emerge as a global hub for manufacturing sodium-ion batteries, which is seen as an alternative or complementary technology to the more expensive lithium ion-powered batteries.
 

Its popularity is seen from the fact that as many as six to seven companies around the world (many of them started in universities or research labs) are working furiously to commercialise the technology and manufacture batteries to power electric vehicles. Some prominent players have entered the business, too, such as Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL) from China, which showcased its first generation of sodium batteries last year and plans a commercial launch next year. Faradion has already commercialised the technology but for home power storage products.

 
So why is sodium-ion gaining traction? Sure, lithium-ion batteries still rule the world for electric vehicles with large capacities already set up across the world. But sodium-ion has some inherent advantages — sodium is a thousand times more abundant across the world than lithium and extraction costs are extremely low. In contrast, lithium availability is limited to a few countries, which is why prices have risen seven-fold since 2021. A sodium-ion battery uses aluminium whereas a lithium-ion one uses copper, which is three or four times more expensive. Also, sodium-ion is a safer alternative, and can be transported at zero volt, whereas lithium-ion batteries have to be stored with a minimum charge at all times, raising the chances of fire hazards.

 
All this makes a sodium-ion battery 30-40 per cent cheaper than a lithium-ion battery. Sodium-ion batteries also charge at a faster rate than lithium-ion variants and have a life cycle that is three times higher. It can charge a battery for a three-wheeler, for instance, up to 80 per cent within seven or eight minutes.
 
Against these significant advantages is that big drawback: Sodium-ion batteries have an average range at least 30 per cent lower than a lithium-ion battery based on the same parameters. Many experts say the differential could rise to over 50 per cent with lithium batteries seeing huge range improvement.

 
That is why KPIT Technologies believes that the market has to be segmented. As Ravi Pandit, co-founder and chairman of the listed entity, pointed out: “A sodium-ion battery is relevant for three-wheelers and public transport, such as buses, or last-mile e-commerce delivery vehicles. For cars and two-wheelers where “range anxiety” is a key issue and consumers want it to be as good as an ICE car, lithium-ion is better. So, both complement each other.”
 
Pandit said KPIT conducted an intensive study with both Bajaj Auto and TVS to understand how auto rickshaw or state transport bus drivers run their vehicles. The study yielded the insight that auto drivers take three breaks every day of around 15 minutes while running their vehicle. That time is enough to charge the sodium-ion battery to 100 per cent. With a range per charge of 50 kilometres an auto driver can run his vehicle for 150 km.

 
Similarly, 95 per cent of state transport buses take a break after 25 km (which is, in fact, mandated in some states), which amounts to about three times a day. These breaks can be used to charge the battery with enough power to get a range of an additional 60 km so it can do 180 km a day.
 
The cost for setting up 1 GWh plant, which is the minimum viable unit, can be anything between Rs 100 crore and Rs 300 crore depending on whether it’s a brand new plant or one in an existing lithium-ion facility. But as both the battery constructs are similar, KPIT has integrated the manufacturing processes so that it is possible to put in additional lines of sodium-ion in a running lithium-ion factory at marginal additional cost.

 
Reliance’s new acquisition, Faradion, is not new to India. In 2020, it had made an attempt to enter India with IPLTech, a Haryana-based EV system designer, which was planning to make electric-powered heavy trucks but the project did not take off.
 
The Ambani plan is simple: It has publicly stated that it plans to commercialise the technology and build integrated giga-scale manufacturing in the country. And it is looking at a larger market that is not limited to the EV or mobility market including grid scale storage and even back-up power. It has given Faradion £25 million as growth capital to commercialise the roll-out.

 
Many OEMs are closely keeping a watch on these developments. Nagesh Basavanhalli, executive chairman of Greaves Electric Mobility, which has an ambitious electric three-wheeler play, is one of them. But the managing director of a leading auto player that straddles the EV space sums up the mood when he says: “EV is a new area. So many things are being tried, better solutions will evolve with time. Who knows today what will be the best?”
 

Why sodium-ion batteries are gaining traction

1. Sodium is much more abundant across the world than lithium and extraction costs are extremely low.
2. Lithium availability is limited to a few countries; prices have risen seven-fold since 2021.
3. A sodium-ion battery uses aluminium whereas a lithium-ion one uses copper, which is three or four times more expensive.
4. Sodium-ion batteries can be transported at zero volt whereas lithium-ion batteries have to be stored with a minimum charge, raising the chances of fire hazards.
5. Sodium-ion batteries charge at a faster rate and have a life cycle that is three times higher.
6. Overall, they are 30 per cent cheaper than lithium-ion.

The drawback
 

1. Sodium-ion batteries have an average range at least 30 per cent lower than lithium-ion batteries based on the same parameters. This differential could rise to over 50 per cent with lithium batteries seeing huge range improvement.
2. Can be used in three-wheeler and e-buses on current tech specs.