Europe’s first sodium-ion cell made with fully domestic components
Researchers in Wales have made a sodium-ion battery cell in the cylindrical 18650 format
Image: Malcolm Koo, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0
A research team from Batri and Swansea University have built a new cylindrical sodium-ion cell using UK-sourced materials, believed to be the first of its kind.
The 18650-format sodium-ion cell combines chemistries developed by UK-based energy storage company Batri and Swansea University, including Welsh coal-derived composite carbon.
Made using fully UK-manufactured anode and cathode materials, the 18650 cell was hailed as a “strategic milestone” by Stephen Hughes, chief technical officer at Batri, who said it “proves that sovereign battery production is viable and already happening here in Wales.”