World’s first large-scale production of battery grade Prussian blue

The facility will immediately begin supplying Natron with materials to produce up to 600MW battery capacity annually. The initiation of Prussian blue production by Arxada follows the supply agreement between Arxada and Natron announced in the first quarter of 2021.

In a statement, 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.”

Battery grade Prussian blue has a unique chemical composition that has enabled a breakthrough battery performance, allowing full charge and discharge in minutes for tens of thousands of cycles. Natron’s battery grade Prussian blue material can be manufactured at high volume and low cost in existing fine chemicals plants.

Through a collaborative process, Arxada has expanded its Visp facility for the high-volume production of these battery grade Prussian blue materials. The facility has successfully completed trial runs and has begun manufacturing products.

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Natron CEO, Colin Wessells, said: “Natron and Arxada have worked extremely hard to reach our goal of 600MW of annual production capacity. The Prussian blue supplied by Arxada will be transformed in our Holland, Michigan, 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 limited supply of critical minerals. By collaborating with Arxada, Natron can provide cost-effective battery products.”

Natron’s batteries, which store sodium ions in electrode materials based on Prussian blue materials, are said to offer high power density, longer service life, and unique safety characteristics over other battery technologies. Natron manufactures its batteries in the US, and requires zero lithium, cobalt, copper, or nickel.