Sodium-ion batteries for BESS in South Asia utilising a local materials supply chain

Battery Energy Storage System \[BESS\] are needed to maximise the utilisation of renewable energy sources, to support the functioning of electrical grids and to provide energy access to those in locations not yet grid-connected.

Faradion's Sodium-Ion Battery \[SIB\] technology represents a lower cost, more sustainable alternative to existing lithium-ion or lead acid battery technologies normally used in BESS. Building on over a decade of SIB technology development and delivering low-voltage packs for residential applications, further innovation at Faradion in this project aims to develop a high-voltage BESS suited to manufacturing at a scale appropriate to the burgeoning demand in South Asia.

In Sri Lanka, Ultracarb will specifically design a hard carbon material optimised for performance in SIBs. Using a sustainable waste by-product as the precursor for this material will allow the costs of SIBs to be reduced further and will encourage investment in cell manufacturing and related industry in the region. The anode developed by Ultracarb will then be incorporated in SIBs.

SIBs containing the developed material will be integrated into a high-voltage BESS demonstrator unit that will undergo field trials in India. The challenging operating environment in India provides valuable information to inform future product development and will demonstrate the reliability of this technology in the South Asia region

This project will enable the partners to establish local supply chains for materials and components in order to serve the rapidly expanding energy storage market in South Asia.