Haldor Topsøe acquires 18% of Na-ion battery company Faradion Ltd
12 February 2014
Haldor Topsøe A/S, a global market leader in catalysis and related process technologies, recently acquired 18% of the shares in sodium-ion battery technology company Faradion Ltd, based in Sheffield, UK. As part of the investment, Haldor Topsøe will collaborate with Faradion to further co-develop and scale up key parts of the company’s sodium-ion (Na-ion) technology. Furthermore, the investment provides Haldor Topsøe the right to manufacture and sell cathode materials for sodium-ion batteries under license from Faradion. Other partners in the investment included Finance Yorkshire’s Seedcorn Fund and Rising Stars Growth Fund II LP.
Faradion was founded in 2010 with the objective to develop a low-cost sodium-ion battery technology capable of reducing the cost of energy storage in a range of applications related to renewable energy, stationary storage and transportation. Haldor Topsøe is the second corporate investor to invest in Faradion; a leading multinational electronics and energy company invested in a minority stake in late 2012.
Sodium-ion batteries represent a potential direct replacement for some lithium-ion batteries, allowing current Li-ion manufacturers to use existing equipment to construct batteries using next-generation Na-ion materials. Over the last three years Faradion has filed twelve patent applications covering various aspects of its proprietary technology platform.
The relationship with Haldor Topsøe provides us with a fast-track route to bring our proprietary materials to market in commercial quantities. Haldor Topsøe’s experience of large scale manufacturing of highly similar materials will enable the future users of our technology to secure high quality materials in commercial volumes at competitive prices.
—Chris Wright, CEO Faradion Ltd.
My hope for a better battery are rising but it is rising few and sometime I have the feeling that we gonna only have a 1.1-1.1-1.1 battery instead of a 5-5-5 battery. If ever we had a 2x battery it will be a miracle but insuficient. I have better hope in synthetic fuel made with water electrolysis and waste co2.
Posted by: gorr | 12 February 2014 at 10:32 AM
If 5% of the battery announcements the last five years pan out - we will have the 2X, if not 5X better batteries by 2017.
Posted by: kelly | 12 February 2014 at 11:44 AM
Lots of hype on batteries out there. If there was a better battery available, I'm sure Tesla would be using it. In fact, I think they already have the best battery in service. They are the only company with a 200 mile EV.
Also, I think our best bet for a practical high density battery is Argonne Labs. it's sad to see how much time has been wasted cranking up the Government and Companies to get them started doing the right kind of research.
Much of that wasted time has been caused by having to fight the Republican Party's science blockades and dealing with their politics of keeping the county fossil fuel dependent. Will they ever change and put the country and it's people before their own self-serving interests?
Sorry! didn't mean to get into all that; but, it is amazing how people keep voting them into office when they work directly against their own voters.
Posted by: Lad | 12 February 2014 at 03:09 PM
We really don't need a hugely improved battery any time soon. Today's batteries at half the price are good enough to eliminate half to 2/3 of gasoline consumption through hybridization and substitution of electricity.
That really is it: cut the petroleum consumption, and make the investment pay off within the length of the typical new-car loan.
Posted by: Engineer-Poet | 12 February 2014 at 07:17 PM
The cost of batteries has dropped about 70% in the last three years. Capacity will double next year as Nissan and others increase range by using higher energy density cells. It is not the problem of the technology that mass media outlets continue to repeat the same old hackneyed falacies regarding the state of the art. It is not helped by the fact that battery companies themselves who are seeking additional funding trash the state of the art as a way of telling people they have something better. The guy trying to sell his ideas about Zn-air will tell you that the current battery just won't work. He has to say that or you won't invest. However, the current crop of Li ion is good enough to make huge decreases in oil use and to save consumers lots of money. Car companies need to mass produce (a compliance level of effort is not mass production).
Posted by: Brotherkenny4 | 13 February 2014 at 07:57 AM
The Tesla Model S is already using 2-2-2+ batteries and their Model E will use 3-3-3 batteries by 2016/2017.
5-5-5 batteries may not quite make it for 2020 but may be around in 2021/2022?
10-10-10 batteries will be available between 2025 and 2030.
Posted by: HarveyD | 16 February 2014 at 10:39 AM