Natron Energy, Inc., a leading sodium-ion battery company in the world, and Arxada AG, a global leader in innovative speciality chemicals, have announced that they have started making battery-grade Prussian blue at Arxada's plant in Visp, Switzerland.

The world-class production facility will immediately begin supplying Natron with materials to produce up to 600 MW battery capacity annually. The supply agreement between Arxada and Natron, which was announced in Q1 2021, led to the start of Prussian blue production by Arxada.

Natron is the world leader in sodium-ion batteries based on their patented Prussian blue technology and the only company shipping UL-listed sodium-ion products in the marketplace today. The chemicals that makeup battery grade Prussian blue are different from those that make up the pigment used in blue jeans and paint.

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This mixture makes batteries work better than ever before. They can be fully charged and discharged in minutes, tens of thousands of times. Natron’s battery grade Prussian blue material can be manufactured at high volume and low cost in existing fine chemicals plants. Natron batteries do not require mined ore or rare minerals, removing these carbon-intensive feedstocks from our products and reducing the strain on industrial customers' ESG compliance initiatives.

Arxada has made its Visp facility bigger so that it can make a lot of these battery-grade Prussian blue materials. This was done through a lot of teamwork. The facility has successfully completed trial runs and has begun manufacturing products.

Antje Gerber, President of Arxada’s Specialty Products Solutions business, said:

“Arxada’s supply of Prussian blue to Natron marks our entry into the electrodes for battery materials market, as part of our strategy to help our customers develop cleaner, greener and more efficient solutions across a broad spectrum of end markets. Leveraging over a century of fine chemicals production experience, Arxada has expanded its existing facility to produce these battery grade materials to Natron’s specifications. We are pleased to have partnered with Natron to enable high-volume production of battery grade Prussian blue materials to fuel global deployments of this critical and innovative battery technology.”

Natron CEO, Colin Wessells, said:

“Natron and Arxada have worked extremely hard to reach our goal of 600 MW of annual production capacity, and we are thrilled to have achieved this milestone together. The Prussian blue supplied by Arxada will be transformed in our Holland, Michigan, US factory into UL-listed sodium-ion battery products.

"Our customers in the data centre, UPS, and energy storage markets are eager for Natron to scale and deliver the product quickly. The current market for Li-ion materials and batteries is increasingly challenged by the limited supply of critical minerals. By collaborating with Arxada, Natron can provide cost-effective battery products manufactured in the US.

"The Swiss Canton of Valais provided support for the construction of the Arxada Prussian blue facility and has been a leader in attracting battery materials manufacturing, increasing local employment, and helping reduce global carbon emissions. Natron is incredibly grateful for the support of the Canton of Valais, which was instrumental in helping us achieve the milestone of mass production."

The sodium ions in Natron's batteries are stored in Prussian blue-based electrode materials. Compared to other battery technologies, Natron's batteries have more power, last longer, and are safer in ways that other battery technologies are not. Natron makes its batteries in the United States and doesn't use any lithium, cobalt, copper, nickel, or other "conflict minerals" in the process.

Source: Businesswire

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