General Motors is developing sodium-ion battery cells in an effort to build a more domestic supply chain and reduce US dependence on China, a senior executive has said.
Kurt Kelty, GM’s vice-president of battery and sustainability, said the company was targeting a largely domestic source of battery cells within two to three years. The initial focus is on energy storage systems for homes, businesses and data centres, although GM also intends to prioritise domestic production for future electric vehicles.
“We’re developing a supply chain such that, two years from now, three years from now, it will be domestic,” Mr Kelty said. “That’s what we’re aiming for — when we get into market, we’ve got a domestic source for that.”
GM is working with Denver-based start-up Peak Energy on sodium-ion cells, which use more widely available materials such as sodium from soda ash. The technology could reduce the need for lithium and ferrous sulphate, materials whose supply chains are heavily dominated by China.
The carmaker expects commercial production of sodium-ion cells with Peak to begin around 2029. Until then, GM will continue producing other battery chemistries for energy storage and electric vehicles, using undisclosed amounts of materials from China.
Sodium-ion batteries seen as alternative to LFP
Most battery cells currently depend on raw materials from China. The International Energy Agency estimates that China produces about 85% of the world’s cathode active material for electric vehicle batteries and more than 90% of anode active material, giving it control of about 80% of battery production.
China also dominates the supply chains for lithium iron phosphate, or LFP, batteries. GM currently makes LFP cells in the US with LG Energy Solution for energy storage systems, while Ford has licensed technology from China’s CATL for LFP cells used in its electric vehicles and planned energy storage operations.
The contrast between the two approaches has drawn attention in Washington. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy recently expressed “profound concern” over Ford’s links to Chinese companies, including its CATL licensing arrangement.
Mr Kelty said Ford was “following a different path”, adding that GM believed it was more valuable to develop battery technology and supply chains domestically rather than replicate existing Chinese systems.
“The better thing to do is try to leapfrog, come up with a different technology that’s actually better that we can actually source here,” he said.
At a basic level, sodium-ion batteries work in a similar way to lithium-ion cells. GM says they could operate across a wider range of temperatures and complete more cycles, while their temperature tolerance could allow energy storage systems to function without active cooling.
That could reduce cost and complexity, according to Mr Kelty. “It’s going to take some time to build this industry up, but the potential for sodium-ion is just much greater than LFP,” he said.
Sam Abuelsamid, a battery expert and vice-president of market research at Telemetry, said domesticating the battery supply chain would probably take years. However, he said sodium-ion materials could be cheaper and easier to produce domestically than LFP materials.
GM is spending $900 million on new battery laboratory facilities at its global technology campus in suburban Detroit. The project includes a more than 500,000 sq ft facility for cell manufacturing prototypes, which is due to begin operations later this year.
Mr Kelty said the investment reflected the importance of developing American battery technology. “Batteries are really critical for a lot of different areas of our economy here,” he said.
