
Williams helps develop world’s first sodium-ion powered vehicle
The project to demonstrate Faradion’s sodium-ion battery technology, which was supported by Williams Advanced Engineering and the University of Oxford, has been part-funded by Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency in organization’s latest competition for ‘disruptive technologies in low carbon vehicles’.
Although lithium-ion batteries are the predominant battery technology used in powering electric and hybrid vehicles, sodium-ion technology offers cost, safety and sustainability benefits.
The base materials required for sodium-ion batteries are more easily sourced than those needed for lithium-ion batteries, which are only found in a limited number of markets around the world.
Sodium-ion batteries are less expensive than their lithium-ion counterparts, offering savings of around 30 percent in terms of cost per kWh. As well as these benefits, sodium-ion batteries claim safety advantages because they can be transported in a totally discharged state. Lithium-ion batteries must be partially charged when they are transported, which has safety implications, especially for air freight.

The battery for the e-bike has a design energy of 418 Wh, 250 Wh of which has been used in the e-bike proof-of-concept. Faradion’s sodium-ion cells deliver a specific energy of more than 140 Wh/kg.
The e-bike battery pack is made up of four modules, designed and manufactured by Williams Advanced Engineering, and controlled by the company’s own battery management system. Each module contains 12 Faradion cells.
Williams has developed batteries for the Formula E electric racing series, Jaguar C-X75 hybrid supercar, and the Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems (KERS) that helped power the company’s Formula One racing cars from 2011-2013. The University of Oxford’s expertise has been used to maximize battery lifetime and initial test results indicate that, as well as comparable performance, sodium-ion cells offer comparable lifetimes to lithium-ion products.
Paul McNamara, Technical Director of Williams Advanced Engineering, said; “Williams Advanced Engineering has a history of innovation in lithium-ion battery technology for a range of different applications and whilst lithium-ion is still the dominant choice of chemistry, sodium-ion is a fascinating alternative that could have real benefits in terms of cost and availability.”
As a proof-of-concept, the cells are larger than strictly necessary, which helped to avoid unnecessary costs and lengthy manufacturing processes at this early stage. When optimized, Faradion’s cells will be comparable in size to lithium-ion battery packs already on the market.
Faradion’s sodium-ion technology is based on cathode material manufactured by Denmark’s Haldor Topsoe. Lyngby-based Topsoe has scaled up Faradion’s proprietary cathode material formulation and has supported the demonstration program by delivering the cathode material used in Faradion’s sodium-ion cells. In 2014 Haldor Topsoe acquired 18% of the shares in Faradion.
Related articles and links:
www.topsoe.com
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