Lonza to Make Prussian Blue for Natron Energy
Lonza Specialty Ingredients (LSI), a division of Swiss-based CDMO Lonza, has sealed a deal to manufacture “high volumes” of Prussian blue materials to be used in energy group Natron’s electrodes for sodium-ion batteries.
The Basel-based group said output from its facility in Visp, Switzerland, will supply 600 megawatts of battery production annually from 2022. According to Natron, this is sufficient to power five to ten major data center facilities. To accommodate the new order, LSI is upgrading existing facilities at the alpine site.
Natron will use the Lonza materials to produce battery electrodes at a plant it intends to build in Valais, Switzerland, as part of a previously announced partnership with the canton government. The materials will subsequently be shipped to the US for integration into battery production.
The California-headquartered battery maker said LSI’s output will help it to meet growing global demand for its BlueTray-brand 4000 Rack-Mounted Battery Pack. Due to their reliability and long cycle life, the company said its battery systems are particularly attractive to customers in data center, telecom and 5G, forklift and other industrial power markets.
Prussian blue pigment stores and releases energy in the form of sodium ions. Natron said its battery products are based on “a unique Prussian blue chemistry” and can be integrated into a wide variety of energy storage applications.
Author: Dede Williams, Freelance Journalist
