Sodium-ion battery tech firm Natron Energy, Inc. (Natron) has announced plans to build the first gigafactory in the US.
The facility will be located in Edgecombe County, North Carolina, and is expected to produce 24GW of Natron’s 'revolutionary' sodium-ion batteries annually at full capacity.
Natron claims its high-performance sodium-ion batteries outperform lithium-ion batteries in power density and recharging speed and that they do not require lithium, cobalt, copper, or nickel, and are non-flammable
The nearly 1.2 million sq. ft. facility, located at the 437-acre Kingsboro megasite, will represent a total investment of nearly $1.4 billion from Natron Energy, facilitated in part by a Job Development Investment Grant (JDIG) approved by the state’s Economic Investment Committee. Over the course of the 12-year term of this grant, Natron says the project is estimated to grow the state’s economy by $3.4 billion.
Colin Wessells, Founder and co-CEO, Natron Energy said: “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.”
Natron says its batteries are the only UL-listed sodium-ion batteries on the market and will be delivered to a wide range of customer end markets in the industrial power space, including data centres, mobility, EV fast charging, microgrids, and telecom.
