A company announced plans Thursday to build a $1.4 billion plant in North Carolina that would provide the first U.S. gigawatt-scale production of sodium-ion batteries, which avoid many of the mining and flammability challenges of lithium-ion technology.
Natron Energy opened the first U.S. sodium-ion battery plant in April in Michigan. The company’s new “gigafactory” near Rocky Mount, North Carolina, would have 40 times more capacity, producing up to 24 gigawatts of batteries annually.
“This flagship manufacturing facility will dramatically accelerate our efforts to deliver sodium-ion batteries to customers who are hungry for safe, reliable and environmentally responsible energy storage solutions,” said Natron co-CEO Colin Wessells on Thursday at the plant site, which is 58 miles east of Raleigh. The event announcing the project was also attended by North Carolina’s Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper and company and state officials.
Sodium-ion batteries offer multiple potential efficiency and environmental benefits over lithium-ion batteries, including higher efficiency and recharging speed. Sodium is widely available, meaning it poses fewer long-term supply chain risks and price fluctuations than lithium, which is extracted through water-intensive mining processes.
