This post is a part of the Early Stage Climate Startup series from Climafix 2024
Highlights
- Watthour’s Sodium-Ion battery utilises abundant materials like sodium, providing a scalable and cost-effective alternative to lithium-ion batteries.
- These batteries offer a 30-40% reduction in the cost of EV production & withstand 3000 charge-discharge cycles.
1. Value Proposition
- Supply Chain & Affordability: Sodium, unlike lithium, nickel, and cobalt, is widely available, avoiding geopolitical and supply chain risks. Using sodium lowers production costs, while maintaining performance levels comparable to lithium-ion batteries.
- Safety and Performance: The batteries offer 95% depth of discharge and a 3000+ cycle life. With superior safety features, they eliminate fire risks and thermal runaway.
2. Pain Points
- High Cost of Lithium-Ion Batteries: Raw material shortages and rising demand are driving up battery costs. Watthour’s sodium-ion batteries offer a 30-40% cost reduction, making them a more affordable alternative.
- Supply Chain Vulnerabilities: Dependence on critical materials like lithium and cobalt creates exposure to price volatility and political risks. Watthour’s sodium-ion technology, using abundant materials like sodium.
3. Climate Impact
- Mining Impact: These batteries reduce the environmental impact of mining for rare materials like lithium and cobalt, as sodium is easier to extract.
4. Current & Future Target Segments
- Current Target Segments: EV manufacturers seeking cost-efficient solutions, as well as grid-scale energy storage for to stabilize the grid and store renewable energy. Also targeting stationary storage systems for telecom and utility companies.
- Future Target Segments: Setting up a 26700 (size) cylindrical cell production line, scaling production capacity.
5. USPs
- Safety & Proven Tech: Unlike lithium-ion batteries, sodium-ion batteries present no thermal runaway risk and can operate in a wide temperature range from -20°C to 60°C. Watthour has already fabricated cylindrical sodium-ion batteries using their proprietary Prussian Blue cathode material. With a 3.5 Ah capacity and the ability to withstand 3000 charge-discharge cycles.
6. Team Profiles
- Milind Dongre (Founder & CEO): With a background in engineering from IIT-Madras and an MBA from IIM-Calcutta, Milind brings a wealth of experience in marketing, finance, and product design.
7. Startup Headquarter
- India: Pune