China’s sodium-ion battery firms Weifang Energy closes Pre-B funding round

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Shenzhen Weifang Energy Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Weifang Energy"), a Chinese sodium-ion battery developer, announced via its WeChat account that it completed a Pre-B round of financing on July 1 with hundreds of millions of yuan raised.

Photo credit: Weifang Energy

The funding round was led by the listed company Newonder Special Electric Co., Ltd., with several other capital firms also investing. The funds raised will primarily be used for the construction and operation of the company's ten-thousand-tonne sodium-ion battery material production line and GWh-level sodium battery cell production line, as well as increased R&D investment, talent pooling, and market expansion.

According to Chinese corporate database Tianyancha, Weifang Energy, which was established on April 12, 2022, has already completed four rounds of financing. The company, specializing in the R&D, production, and sale of sodium battery cells and materials, is also among the first Chinese research enterprises to delve into the R&D of sodium-ion batteries.

odium-ion batteries in 2013. The Weifang Energy Research Institute was established in 2017, dedicated to the experimental demonstration and selection of cathode and anode materials for sodium-ion batteries. In 2021, it successfully manufactured prototype cells, and by 2022, a pilot line for battery cells and materials was established. In 2023, Weifang Energy signed a contract with the Guizhou Dalong Economic Development Zone’s government to set up a 100,000-tonne sodium battery material production base. Currently, the first phase of a 20,000-tonne sodium battery material mass-production line is under active construction, with all aspects of the construction work progressing steadily.

The person at the investor, Newonder Special Electric Co., Ltd., stated that 2023 is the inaugural year for the mass production of sodium-ion batteries. With a broad prospect in the new energy vehicle (NEV) market, sodium-ion batteries have a unique advantage in balancing performance and cost, and their applications are extremely extensive. In the future, Weifang Energy's sodium-ion batteries will be widely applied in numerous fields such as energy storage, communications base stations, two/three-wheel vehicles, and power tools.