Guide
Imagine a future where airplanes may be replaced with sodium-ion batteries! Sodium-ion battery technology is expected to replace lithium batteries in the aircraft field and make a great contribution to environmental protection. The advantages of sodium-ion batteries and their application prospects in the aircraft field are introduced in detail, let's take a look at the industrialization process of sodium-ion batteries and the promotion of their technological development by the New Deal!
The future development path of sodium-ion battery technology
In the future, sodium-ion battery technology is expected to replace lead-acid batteries and lithium-ion batteries in electric aircraft, low-speed electric vehicles, two-wheeled electric vehicles, and home/industrial energy storage, providing new possibilities for the development of clean energy.
Because sodium-ion batteries have many advantages, sodium resources are extremely abundant, and there will be no shortage of metal resources such as nickel, manganese, and cobalt, which will affect the development of new energy.
The material cost of sodium-ion batteries is very low, and it does not contain heavy metals, and it also causes little pollution to the environment. The safety performance of sodium-ion batteries is also much better than that of lithium batteries, and the cost is low and not easy to burn, but because the energy density is slightly inferior to that of lithium batteries, lithium batteries are more widely used in practical applications.
But even with a slight lack of energy density, sodium-ion batteries can still meet some specific application scenarios, such as electric aircraft.
Because the aviation field has extremely strict requirements for energy density, even the current lithium battery is difficult to support the energy demand of aircraft for long-distance voyages.
Due to the advantage of low resource cost, sodium-ion batteries are expected to achieve large-scale production in the future and form an advantage in price.
Because the aircraft does not have high requirements for the cycle life of the battery, as long as it can support a voyage, the current cycle life of sodium-ion batteries is slightly short, but it will not become a hard injury in practical applications.
If the aircraft is really replaced with sodium-ion batteries, it will undoubtedly make a great contribution to the cause of environmental protection.
At present, the sodium-ion battery project has begun to test flights, and the weight of the aircraft is large and the energy density used is high.
Application of sodium-ion batteries in the field of aircraft
It is reported that CATL has successfully tested a 4-ton civil electric aircraft and is accelerating the development of an 8-ton electric aircraft, which is expected to be released in 2027~2028 with a range of up to 2000~3000 kilometers.
If it can be released as scheduled, it is believed that it will become the first airline in the world to launch a large civil electric aircraft.
This is undoubtedly a revolutionary innovation for the aircraft market and has the potential to usher in a new era of aircraft electrification.
Until now, aircraft have not been able to be electrified, mainly due to the limitations of traditional lithium-ion batteries.
Even the most advanced solid-state battery technology still struggles to meet the needs of high-intensity use in aircraft.
Because once the plane has an accident, all personnel cannot be evacuated in a short time, and if an explosion occurs at this time, the consequences will be unimaginable.
However, the combustion temperature of traditional lithium-ion batteries is extremely high, and in the process of large-scale application in the aircraft industry, safety hazards have always been an insurmountable gap.
But as sodium-ion batteries gradually mature, the aircraft finally ushered in its own dawn.
Because sodium-ion batteries have the characteristics of abundant resources, low price and good safety, and have achieved successful application experience in other fields, the promotion and application in the aircraft field should be a natural trend.
In addition, as an important means of transportation, the aircraft itself has always been an obstacle to environmental protection.
While international airlines are buying carbon allowances to compensate for the damage they do to the environment, this is only a palliative measure.
Only by truly liberating aircraft from traditional fuels can we truly achieve carbon neutrality in the aviation sector.
If sodium-ion batteries can be truly capable of propelling aircraft and achieve large-scale production by 2027, then we have reason to believe that the carbon emission problem in aviation will be fundamentally solved by 2030.
Industrialization process of sodium-ion batteries
However, if sodium-ion batteries are to be truly used in aircraft, it is not just a matter of technology.
As we have said before, although sodium-ion batteries have many advantages, energy density is still its weakness.
Especially for scenarios such as aircraft, which require extremely high energy density, the existing sodium-ion batteries are far from meeting the requirements.
Even if a large company such as CATL has already started test flights, the success of test flights does not mean that they can be commercialized on a large scale.
It is likely that the batteries used in the current test flights are products that have undergone secondary processing, which is very costly and can only be afforded during the test phase.
If it is to be used in aircraft, the goal must be to reduce the energy density from more than 500 Wh/kg to about 250 Wh/kg.
And not only meet the requirements of energy density, but also meet the requirements in terms of cycle life, safety, price, etc.
After all, as one of the important symbols of public travel, the core components of the aircraft must meet the standards of aviation level, and the safety is a hard indicator.
Although technically speaking, sodium-ion batteries can already do this, but from the perspective of market production and large-scale application, there is still a long way to go.
At present, there are not many sodium-ion battery projects on the market, and the scale is very small, so it is obviously very difficult to reduce costs and achieve mass production in this case.
Even if a large manufacturer like CATL invests a lot of money and manpower in R&D, there is no guarantee that it will succeed.
After all, the competition in the new energy battery market is very fierce, and now lithium batteries are already in a state of meager profits or even losses.
No matter how advanced the technology is, until the user recognizes it, everything is in vain. Therefore, how to quickly realize the industrialization of sodium-ion batteries is undoubtedly the most urgent issue in front of us.
The New Deal has promoted the development of sodium-ion battery technology
This is where the authorities play a very crucial role. We all know that the achievements of new energy vehicles today are largely due to the strong support of national policies.
If there are no various preferential policies to stimulate market demand, it is difficult for new energy vehicles to open up the situation.
Even a company like Tesla, which has top technology and reputation, has encountered a lot of resistance at the beginning of entering the market of a large eastern country, and if it is not for the introduction of policies by the state to vigorously support the development of new energy vehicles, it is difficult to imagine that there will be such a brand as Tesla, a large eastern country.
In the same way, on the road to the industrialization of sodium-ion batteries, if the authorities cannot introduce corresponding measures to promote technological upgrading and market application, then even the most advanced technology can only rot in the laboratory.
Not only is it impossible to go to market, but even the wider space outside the lab is inaccessible. Therefore, we have seen that in the past short time, the relevant departments of the state have successively issued a series of policies to support the development of sodium-ion battery technology.
The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and other six departments have jointly issued a document pointing out that it is necessary to accelerate the technological breakthrough and large-scale application of sodium-ion batteries. In particular, it is necessary to strengthen top-level design and organization and implementation, and increase investment and research and development efforts in key materials, core components, and advanced manufacturing technologies.
In addition, it is necessary to establish and improve the supporting policy system and increase publicity and promotion. It can be said that this is the first document at the national level that clearly states that it will support the development of sodium-ion batteries.
Subsequently, there are many similar policy documents, such as "Notice on Printing and Distributing the Action Plan for Industrial Technology Innovation", "Notice on Adjusting and Improving the Financial Subsidy Policy for the Promotion and Application of New Energy Vehicles" and so on.
It can be said that from a policy point of view, the "14th Five-Year Plan" period has been a stage that clearly supports the development of sodium-ion batteries. And the introduction of these policy documents is not something that the authorities themselves came up with to play tricks.
It is a decision made based on the discussion of the technical path and the way out under the current new energy development situation.
For example, at present, lithium-ion batteries have reached the technical ceiling, and they have almost tried their best in terms of mileage, safety performance, and cycle life.
Even a top brand like Tesla, which finally launched a solid-state battery after burning all its resources, has only barely reached the current level, and it cannot be said that it has truly achieved a technological revolution.
More importantly, lithium-ion batteries, as the dominant products in the field of new energy vehicles, have also exposed more and more problems in other aspects.
For example, the cost is very difficult to accept for consumers, and it is in a very awkward position in terms of materials and production processes. Although it can be said that lithium-ion batteries have made great achievements in the development of new energy vehicles in the past decade, and have also successfully helped new energy vehicles to a prosperous and development stage.
However, with the advancement of technology and the upgrading of market demand, new energy vehicles during the 14th Five-Year Plan period have put forward higher requirements for battery technology.
In this case, if the country cannot find an alternative in time and support its development and growth, it will be difficult to implement the new energy vehicle development plan during the 14th Five-Year Plan period.
The first year of industrialization
In terms of technology, the 14th Five-Year Plan has also clearly set out goals and directions.
According to the planning outline, the development plan of the new energy vehicle industry during the 14th Five-Year Plan period is mainly divided into three stages.
The first stage is to clarify the goals and directions, and provide guidance and support in policies; The second stage is to invest heavily in research and development to achieve major breakthroughs in technology; The third stage is large-scale production and promotion and application, forming a competitive advantage in the market, and gradually realizing industrial transformation. From this timetable, the "14th Five-Year Plan" period is regarded as the first year of sodium-ion battery industrialization.
Various policies and technical measures are being promoted in an orderly manner, and the "2023 sodium-ion battery project has begun to fly test", the preparation technology of various enterprises is gradually maturing, and the mass production process is accelerating.
In 2024, a large number of new materials have been put into use, and the cycle life has been significantly improved; In 2025, the industry competition will gradually enter a white-hot stage, and companies are trying to seize market share by cutting prices; In 2026, with the gradual emergence of the scale effect, "500Wh/kg" has become history, and "600Wh/kg" has even arrived; In 2027, various companies have begun to march towards "750Wh/kg", "CATL has tested a 4-ton civil electric aircraft", and 8-ton products are also in full swing. In 2028, the test flight of the aircraft will be a complete success, and the cruising range of "2000~3000 km" is no longer far away. This is a rough path that we can see from the technology evolution curve. It is worth mentioning that behind various technological breakthroughs and market applications, the "New Deal has played a very key role in promoting the development of sodium-ion battery technology".
epilogue
The development of sodium-ion batteries is exciting, especially in the aircraft sector, which may revolutionize the aviation industry. With the support of national policies and the continuous advancement of technological breakthroughs, we are full of expectations for the future of sodium-ion battery technology. What kind of changes do you think the application of sodium-ion batteries in the aircraft field will bring?