We've long relied on lithium-ion batteries for long-term energy storage, but they can be expensive to produce and maintain over the years. California-based startup Inlyte wants to offer a scalable alternative with its sodium-iron battery tech, and it'll soon manufacture cells to showcase its benefits.
The idea behind sodium-iron batteries has been around for decades. Beta Research, an outfit in the UK, pioneered this technology back in the 1970s for use in electric vehicles, but it didn't take off – and lithium-ion took the lead instead. Several years later, Stanford graduate Antonio Baclig chose to run with sodium metal halide battery designs in his effort to create a utility-grade energy storage solution, and launched his own firm to commercialize it.
Inlyte looked at Beta Research's work developing this tech and acquired the latter's team and facilities. In 2023, the startup raised US$8 million in seed funding to pursue its ambitions. Now, it's inked a deal with Horien Salt Battery Solutions to scale up production of sodium-iron batteries at a facility in the US, and bring these long-duration storage batteries to market.
The big draw of sodium-iron batteries is in the name: they're made of two highly abundant materials, which means they could cost as little as $35 per kWh when manufactured at scale. That's a fraction of what you'd pay for lithium-ion batteries, which are around $139 per kWh.
Sodium-iron batteries are also durable, can operate and be safely shipped in any climate, pose low fire risks, and promise between 6-24 hours of energy storage. In comparison, lithium-ion storage batteries generally offer about 4 hours of storage duration.
Inlyte has also demonstrated its cells managing over 700 cycles with no loss in energy capacity, and claims a battery life of at least 7,000 cycles, or 20 years. That could give lithium-ion-based storage options like Tesla's Megapack a run for their money.
By partnering with Horien, Inlyte hopes to throw open the doors to its first US-based battery factory by 2027. The company has already been testing its tech at a pilot plant in the UK; manufacturing in the US with Horien's expertise could accelerate its ambition to commercialize its cells and sign up customers in the near future.
Source: Inlyte via PR Newswire
