US Aim to Counter China's Dominance in EV Battery Technology

Recently, the U.S. and other Western countries have looked to breakthroughs in electric vehicle battery technology to undermine China's dominance in the field. These breakthroughs include research into sodium-ion batteries, solid-state batteries, and the use of silicon instead of graphite as a negative electrode material.

Currently, China dominates the EV Battery market. In the first four months of this year, two Chinese automakers, Ningde Times and BYD, accounted for half of the global EV Battery market, according to SNE Research, a South Korean market research organization. China also controls the supply chain of battery materials, accounting for nearly 90 percent of the world's positive active material capacity and more than 97 percent of negative active material capacity, according to data from the International Energy Agency.

Western countries see battery technology as the key to undermining China's dominance. Among them, sodium ion batteries are seen as a viable alternative because of the abundance of sodium reserves. Despite their lower energy density, sodium batteries may be a better choice for energy storage systems or low-end electric vehicles. Currently, NDT and BYD are already significantly increasing the production capacity of sodium batteries.

Source: TechNews