Unigrid Aims to Reduce Costs and Enhance Safety of Batteries Through Sodium Usage

The greatest barrier to battery advancement is their high cost.

Lithium-ion batteries, the most commonly used variety, hover around a price of $140 per kilowatt-hour for a pack. Although this price point has led to an accelerated shift towards electric vehicles, even the most affordable versions of lithium-ion batteries remain prohibitively expensive for widespread residential deployment to safeguard against power outages.

To address this, producers are now investigating the potential of sodium-ion batteries as an adjunct, rather than a substitute, to lithium-ion batteries.

Darren Tan, co-founder and CEO of Unigrid, shared with TechCrunch that, if produced on a large scale, the manufacturing cost of sodium-ion could be nearly half that of lithium-iron-phosphate, thanks to the significantly cheaper raw materials.

However, widespread adoption of sodium-ion batteries faces hurdles as they are currently not as compact, resulting in larger and heavier batteries not suitable for electric vehicles (EVs). Additionally, the differing charge and discharge behaviors from lithium-ion necessitate new electronic management systems for sodium-ion batteries.

Tan’s enterprise claims to have overcome these obstacles with a novel sodium-chromium-oxide and tin chemistry that ensures the batteries occupy no more space than, and in some cases less than, lithium-iron-phosphate cells. Their energy output is comparable to that of lithium-ion batteries, allowing for the use of identical electronics, and they utilize abundantly available materials. “Each year, twice as much chromium is produced compared to copper,” Tan noted.

Originating from Tan’s work at UC San Diego under the guidance of Shirley Meng, a leading expert in energy storage materials, Unigrid was not only aimed at creating a more cost-effective battery but also a safer alternative.Unigrid’s batteries are designed to avoid thermal runaway and combustion until reaching several hundred degrees Celsius internally, making them markedly safer. “Our goal with sodium-ion is not to simply match lithium-ion but to significantly surpass it in safety, rendering it viable for use in a variety of settings like residential buildings, hospitals, and data centers to truly enable widespread distributed energy storage,” Tan explained.

Unigrid plans to fulfill the demand for its batteries not by constructing new facilities but by partnering with smaller battery makers adept at executing external designs on their lines, similar to the business model of TSMC with tech giants. Tan mentions that these existing facilities have ample capacity to meet megawatt-hour scale production needs using Unigrid’s chemistry.

Initially targeting the energy storage market for buildings and smaller campuses, Unigrid also aims to cater to light electric vehicles such as scooters and auto-rickshaws. These modes of transport are prevalent in regions like India and Southeast Asia, where high temperatures can cause lithium-ion batteries to overheat. “We see a significant market opportunity in these hot climates, where battery-related fires are common,” Tan stated.

With a fresh $12 million Series A funding, led by Transition VC and Ritz Venture Capital and supported by Union Square Ventures and Foothill Ventures, Unigrid is gearing up to kickstart production of its sodium-ion batteries.

Tan is optimistic about getting Unigrid’s products to market swiftly, aiming for a launch within the next five years to make an immediate and significant impact.