The program will last for four years, with a total lifecycle purchase value of about RMB 200 million ($28.1 million).
Chinese sodium-ion battery startup Jiangsu Zoolnasm Energy Technology said it received a nomination letter from an international auto parts company on October 30, becoming the customer's sodium-ion battery supplier.
According to the customer's plan, the program will last for 4 years, with a total purchase amount of about RMB 200 million ($28.1 million) over the life cycle, according to an announcement today.
The customer is expected to begin volume purchases in the first half of 2025, Zoolnasm said, without disclosing the name of the customer.
The company didn't specify, though its announcement implied that its sodium-ion batteries would be used in the customer's low-voltage battery systems, rather than in vehicles.
The global market for batteries used in start-stop and EV assist was estimated to be about RMB 180 billion in 2023 and is expected to reach RMB 202 billion by 2025, the announcement noted.
With rising environmental requirements in mainstream markets, replacing lead-acid batteries in start-stop and automotive low-voltage battery solutions has become an industry trend, Zoolnasm said.
The supply agreement is an important milestone in Zoolnasm's exploration of this scenario, marking a milestone in the company's three-year program development and product validation, it said.
Zoolnasm was founded in January 2021 and is located in Suzhou, Jiangsu province in eastern China. The company's scientist, Zhao Jianqing, has fifteen years of experience in sodium-ion battery research and development and holds a number of leading patented technologies, according to its website.
On March 4, 2022, Zoolnasm announced that it had secured a new round of funding, with Country Garden Venture Capital, the venture capital arm of real estate giant's Country Garden, as the exclusive investor.
On November 19, 2023, the company broke ground on its sodium-ion battery manufacturing base project in Guangde, Anhui province, its first sodium-ion battery mass production site.
The manufacturing base project has a total planned investment of RMB 10 billion, with a planned annual production capacity comprising 20 GWh of sodium-ion battery cells, and 10 GWh of sodium-ion battery systems.
As of now, Zoolnasm's products focusing on light-duty power scenarios have completed their first deliveries to two car companies, it said today.
($1 = RMB 7.1249)
'World's largest' sodium-ion battery energy storage project goes into operation in China
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