Japanese consumer goods company Elecom launched the first power bank in the world powered by sodium-ion.
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| Sodium-ion (Na+) power bank |
Friendlier to the environment than lithium-ion
According to the company, sodium is friendlier to the environment, as it is more abundant and easier to produce than lithium (less pollution, less toxic). Sodium-ion (Na+) batteries also perform well even in extreme -35-degree Celsius temperature, up to 50 degrees Celsius and are more resilient against thermal runaway fires. Moreover, they have a service life of 5,000 cycles or 10x more than 500 cycles of standard lithium-ion batteries.
Note that this is different from sodium chloride, also known as salt.
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| Colors of the sodium-ion power bank |
The power bank comes with the model number DE-C55L-9000, is available in Black or Light Gray colors. It comes with 9,000mAh capacity (3x 3,000mAh) with up to 45W fast charging. It has a USB-C PD (45W) and USB-A (18W) ports. It also has a low current mode for smaller devices like earphones and other wearables.
Its input port supports up to 30W of fast charging and could be recharged in approximately two hours.
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| It can be used to charge even laptops |
The slight downside is it is thicker and heavier than lithium-ion power banks as it has lower energy density. It measures 106 x 87 x 31 mm and weighs 350 grams.
DE-C55L-9000 key features
- Black, Light Gray colors
- 9,000mAh Sodium-ion battery
- 5,000 charging cycles
- 1x USB-C PD 45W port
- 1x USB-A 18W port
- 106 x 87 x 31 mm
- 350 grams
In Japan, the power bank retails for JPY 9,980 or roughly around 3.8K pesos. There is no info if this will be available in the Philippines yet.