By Sam Li and Chen Aizhu
BEIJING/SINGAPORE (Reuters) -China’s Sinopec, the world’s biggest refiner by capacity, signed an agreement with South Korea’s LG Chem on Tuesday to jointly develop sodium-ion battery materials, in its first push into new energy and higher-value petrochemicals.
The companies will focus on energy-storage systems and batteries for low-speed EVs in China and globally, jointly developing key materials to speed up commercialisation, Sinopec said in a statement.
China’s sodium-ion market is expected to grow from 10 GWh in 2025 to 292 GWh by 2034, with China producing more than 90% of global output by 2030, Sinopec added, citing a market report.
The company said sodium-ion batteries offer resource and cost advantages over lithium-ion, with improved safety, faster charging, and stronger low-temperature performance compared with lithium iron phosphate batteries.
“Through this cooperation with Sinopec, we will develop next-generation battery materials at the right time and continue to strengthen a business portfolio aligned with customers’ future strategies,” LG Chem CEO Hak Cheol Shin said.
(Reporting by Sam Li and Aizhu Chen; Editing by Kate Mayberry)
