UK-based battery manufacturer AMTE Power and Faradion Ltd., a leader in non-aqueous sodium-ion battery technolog (earlier post), announced a collaboration which combines Faradion’s IP with AMTE Power’s design and manufacturing capabilities.

Faradion’s IP portfolio, which includes some jointly-held patents, comprises 21 current patent families (including eight granted), focused on three key areas of sodium-ion technology:

• Cell Materials: This includes cathode, anode and electrolyte materials and preparation methods

• Cell Infrastructure

• Safety and Transportation

This collaboration grants AMTE Power a license to manufacture and sell sodium-ion cells (to be incorporated into battery packs) for Energy Storage Solutions (ESS) for defined fields of use and geographies.

The partnership enables sodium-ion battery technology to be incorporated in a range of renewable energy applications including residential energy storage, commercial micro-grids, wind turbine and tidal energy storage. Faradion’s patented technology is highly scalable as it can leverage AMTE Power’s existing lithium-ion manufacturing facilities in Thurso.

Faradion’s technology provides similar performance to conventional chemistries while avoiding use of expensive materials such as cobalt and replacing lithium with the more sustainable and abundant sodium. AMTE Power has branded its sodium-ion product “Ultra Safe” due to its improved safety and enhanced thermal stability.

Faradion’s patented zero-volt technology enables the Ultra Safe product to offer safer transportation and maintenance options for customers and users.

Annual battery storage development in the UK has grown significantly since 2017 and the total pipeline of battery storage projects in the UK has now reached more than 16.1 GW. Globally, renewables will make up two-thirds of all additions to global power generation capacity in the next 20 years, and solar PV will become the largest source of installed capacity in the next 15 years. These trends will drive a significant increase in the use of battery storage. The recent power outages in Texas highlight the importance of reliable, large-scale energy storage.