Williams Demo World’s First Sodium-ion Powered Vehicle

21 juin 2015

Williams Advanced Engineering played host to a media event that saw the first public demonstration of a sodium-ion powered vehicle. Developed by British battery start-up firm Faradion in collaboration with Williams Advanced Engineering and Oxford University, this technology was demonstrated in an e-bike application as a proof-of-concept to showcase the capabilities of this new type of battery chemistry.

Although lithium-ion batteries are currently the predominant technology in electric and hybrid vehicles, as well as energy storage applications, sodium-ion has the potential to offer cost, safety and sourcing benefits. The base materials required for sodium-ion batteries are more easily sourced than those needed for lithium-ion batteries, which are only found in a limited number of markets around the world. Sodium salts used in sodium-ion batteries can be made from common salt, which is more abundant than lithium salt, and also available within the UK, providing possibilities for a British battery supply chain.

The e-bike battery pack is made up of four 12-cell modules that were designed and manufactured by Williams Advanced Engineering and controlled by a Williams designed battery management system. Williams is a proven leader in the design and manufacture of battery energy storage technology, having developed batteries for the Formula E electric racing series, Jaguar C-X75 hybrid supercar, and the Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems (KERS) that helped power the company’s Formula One racing cars from 2011-2013. Oxford University’s expertise has been used to maximise battery life and it is expected that as well as comparable performance, sodium-ion cells can offer a comparable lifetime to lithium-ion products.