Natron Energy
Assembly Line
U.S. Battery Rush Spurs $1.4 Billion Sodium-Ion Factory in North Carolina
Natron Energy is one of the few U.S. companies focusing on sodium, an abundant mineral that can produce batteries that are cheaper and safer than the lithium-based batteries that power electric vehicles. Investors have poured roughly $300 million into the company. Natron has also gotten backing from Washington.
Natron’s batteries are coveted because they use sodium instead of lithium, which is expensive to produce and notoriously volatile in price. They also avoid troublesome metals such as cobalt and rare earths that pose supply-chain and human-rights risks to big battery users. The technology is less fire-prone and can operate in colder climates, proponents say.
Natron’s factory in eastern North Carolina’s Edgecombe County follows an initial plant in Michigan that began making batteries for customers in April. The new facility will increase the company’s production capacity by about 40 times.
Natron Energy Achieves First-Ever Commercial-Scale Production of Sodium-Ion Batteries in the U.S.
Natron Energy, Inc., the global leader in sodium-ion battery technology, announced the commencement of commercial-scale operations at its sodium-ion battery manufacturing facility in Holland, Michigan. Natron’s milestone marks the first-ever commercial-scale production of sodium-ion batteries in the U.S. These batteries offer higher power density, higher cycles, a domestic U.S. supply chain, and unique safety characteristics over other battery technologies, and are the only UL-listed sodium-ion batteries on the market today.