China’s sodium-ion battery cathode materials supplier bags nearly 100 million yuan in Pre-A+ round

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Wuhan Qina New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. ("Qina New Energy"), a Chinese manufacturer and developer of sodium-ion battery cathode materials, has successfully secured nearly a hundred million yuan in Pre-A+ round financing, according to an official press release

The fresh funding, led by Sparkedge Capital, with participation from existing investor China Merchants Venture, is earmarked for the construction of a mass production line with an annual production capacity of around 10,000 tonnes.

Established in September 2022, Qina New Energy has remarkably completed its fifth round of financing this year.

Photo cedit: Qina New Energy

Sodium-ion battery technology has gained significant traction in recent years, with three primary technical pathways for sodium-ion cathode materials: layered metal oxides, polyanionic compounds, and Prussian blue derivatives. Polyanionic materials, known for their safety, stability, and excellent cycling performance, are particularly well-suited for sodium-ion cathode materials used in energy storage applications. Among them, sodium iron phosphate is a key material to the polyanionic compound technology pathway.

Qina New Energy's primary concentration lies in the R&D and industrialization of composite sodium iron phosphate materials and their precursors. Presently, the company's composite sodium iron phosphate materials have undergone testing by various battery manufacturers, demonstrating a specific capacity exceeding 110 mAh/g under 0.1C conditions and over 100 mAh/g under 1C conditions, with a first-cycle Coulombic efficiency surpassing 95%.

In terms of industrialization progress, Qina New Energy has successfully commissioned a 1000-tonne production line for composite sodium iron phosphate this year and is concurrently planning for a production line with a capacity of about tonnes, with the project expected to be signed this month.

In addition, the company is actively developing sodium-supplement additives, aiming to address the challenge of the low initial efficiency of hard carbon anodes in sodium-ion batteries, and has completed small-scale testing.