South Korean media: "The new generation of batteries is lagging again", China is "running", South Korea is "walking"! On April 22, the South Korean media "Korea Economic Daily" published an article stating that China's Haina Battery Company has launched a new commercial vehicle sodium-ion battery which can be fully charged in 25 minutes. On the other hand, South Korea is still in the "early stage" and has no actual product application cases. Experts warn that South Korean companies such as LG Energy Solution may be repeating the mistake of losing dominance in the lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery market to China. In China, more than 80 companies are competing to develop next-generation batteries, but South Korea has failed to move away from its strategy centered on ternary batteries, making it unable to quickly adapt to market changes. Haina recently held a new product launch event and released a dedicated sodium-ion battery solution for commercial vehicles. It includes four models: K150 and K210 suitable for short-distance transportation, and K280 and K350 suitable for long-distance transportation. This new product has an energy density exceeding 165Wh/kg. Considering that the current commercially available sodium-ion batteries have an energy density of 100 to 130Wh/kg, this product narrows the performance gap with LFP batteries. Another feature is that it can charge up to 100% in 20 to 25 minutes. It should be emphasized that it can discharge stably at minus 45 degrees Celsius, ensuring reliable performance under extreme weather conditions. Haina is an experienced commercialized company, having supplied the early version of the sodium-ion battery to Jianghuai Automobile's small electric vehicle "Yiwei 3" since January last year. This time, by expanding from small electric vehicles to the commercial logistics vehicle market, it has broadened its product lineup. China has gained experience in commercializing two-wheeled vehicles equipped with sodium-ion batteries through Yadea, a two-wheeled electric vehicle manufacturer, and Jianghuai, an automobile manufacturer. CATL plans to release the second-generation sodium-ion battery this year, and there are as many as 82 companies in China developing sodium batteries, fostering an ecosystem. Currently, most South Korean battery companies focus on ternary lithium batteries, and investment in sodium-ion batteries is still in its early stages. There are no commercialization cases like those seen in China where they are installed in final products. In response, a South Korean battery industry insider stated, "Sodium batteries have low energy density, which is disadvantageous for electric vehicles requiring long-distance travel. Due to the lack of a mass production system in South Korea, their unit price is not low. South Korean companies are still at the level of material development and cannot help but lack the willingness to convert them into practical batteries." Professor Kim Young-jun of the Nanotechnology Institute of Sungkyunkwan University pointed out, "Just as Korean companies once only focused on ternary batteries and were slow to respond to the LFP market, sodium-ion batteries may also follow the same path. The supply and demand environment for lithium may change at any time, so now is the time to at least prepare the technology." Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1830086805475456/ Disclaimer: This article solely represents the author's own views.