Chinese battery manufacturer Svolt has begun production of cobalt-free cathode materials. They will be used in the nickel-manganese battery (NMX) cells that will start rolling off the production line in June 2021.
Svolt NMX
Svolt
Svolt is the first company to bring high nickel cell chemistry without cobalt to mass industrial production readiness. The Chinese manufacturer has developed a new cathode material for the cobalt-free NMX battery cells. It consists of 75 % nickel and 25 % manganese. The cathode is stabilized via specially developed doping and coating processes and is said to have higher thermal stability and overall safety than NCM811 cells.
In January 2021, pilot production was completed with 10 t of cobalt-free cathode material at the battery cell factory in Jintan, eastern China. The cobalt-free NMX battery cells are expected to start rolling off the production line in June 2021 and, in addition to improved sustainability, will be more cost-effective than NCM811 cells.