South Korean media: This time, China has left South Korea behind again with the "salt battery"! On May 21st, the South Korean newspaper "Korea Economic Daily" published an article stating that the news of global top battery company Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL) developing a "salt battery" caused a huge stir in South Korean industry circles. If sodium is used to replace expensive lithium, the price of already cheap Chinese batteries may further decrease. LG Energy Solution, Samsung SDI, and SK On, the three major South Korean battery companies, have set the completion time for salt batteries around 2030, leading to assessments that they are about 5 years behind in future battery technology competition. Recently, CATL showcased sodium batteries at the "2025 Technology Day" held in Shanghai, China. CATL's Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Gao Huan, stated, "The energy density of sodium batteries is 175 Wh/kg, which is almost on par with existing lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries (165-180 Wh)." CATL plans to begin mass production by the end of the year. CATL introduced that the charging speed of sodium batteries is 5C, which is 25% faster than high-quality nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) batteries (4C). 1C means it takes one hour to fully charge a 60 kWh battery. CATL claims that sodium batteries are safer than NCM batteries. In the video released on-site, even when cut by a drill or saw, sodium batteries did not catch fire. Gao Huan explained, "We improved the energy density by applying nano-coating technology to sodium." The biggest advantage of sodium batteries is their price. This is because sodium can be easily extracted from common salt by simply separating chlorine. Sodium costs 270 won per kilogram, which is one-fiftieth the price of lithium. South Korean companies are also developing sodium batteries. However, the issue of low energy density in sodium batteries remains unresolved. Even LG Energy Solutions, considered the most advanced, has set the target for mass-producing sodium batteries around 2030. Samsung SDI is conducting research at the laboratory level. SK On has included sodium in its list of candidate next-generation batteries. However, whether the performance of CATL's sodium batteries can remain consistent after mass production is still uncertain. A battery industry insider in South Korea said, "The data announced by CATL might be the test results of laboratory-made samples," and added, "It remains unclear whether there will be a high yield rate during mass production with many variables." [Image: //p3-sign.toutiaoimg.com/tos-cn-i-ezhpy3drpa/ff4c4a79cd9e4fb5a293850c545c2cee~tplv-obj:1920:1080.image?_iz=97245&bid=15&from=post&gid=1832733036629386&lk3s=06827d14&x-expires=1755561600&x-signature=esO0TVg6CBm9BzUriPyRpsqaYos%3D] Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1832733036629386/ Disclaimer: This article represents only the views of the author.