The young company Litona wants to change that. The start-up founded at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) now wants to produce the batteries on an industrial scale. The so-called Prussian white (a chemical relative of the colour Prussian blue) is essentially based on sodium, iron and manganese. "It can be used as an energy storage material at the cathode, i.e. the positive pole of a sodium-ion battery," says Sebastian Büchele from the Institute for Applied Materials at KIT and founder of Litona.
Prussian white for mass production
Such batteries are more cost-effective and all the raw materials they contain are widely available. "I am convinced that we will soon be able to use them en masse in electric vehicles and grid storage systems," says Büchele. However, the question is who should produce them. The European industry is facing a major problem here. "It is currently difficult even for research institutions to procure sufficient quantities of Prussian white," says the scientist. Hardly any company in Europe produces it. This is extremely slowing down research and transfer of the pioneering sodium-ion technology.
See also: Getting sodium-ion batteries using sustainable raw materials to market
As Büchele also wanted to research sodium-ion technology, he decided to synthesise Prussian white himself. This work not only produced a high-quality cathode material at KIT, but also an innovative process for its production. The aim was to serve a larger market. This is why he founded the start-up Litona together with chemist Tom Bötticher. "Competitors were having problems scaling up the production of Prussian white analogues," says Büchele. He is optimistic that the company has solved this.
Opportunity for the European industry
Litona used the KIT infrastructure to validate the scaling steps and optimise the material for use in next-generation batteries. In the meantime, however, the two founders are already working on setting up their own state-of-the-art production facility. "We deliberately chose Germany as a location," emphasises co-founder Bötticher. The founders believe in the potential of European battery production. When it comes to lithium-ion batteries, Asia has been ahead in recent years. Sodium-ion technology is now a huge opportunity for a new start in Europe. "We don't just want to sit back and watch." (nhp/mfo)
Also interesting: "The storage market is undergoing a tough consolidation"
