(Yicai Global) March 1 -- China's Farasis Energy has become the designated battery supplier to Jiangling Motors Electric Vehicle, a Chinese producer of new energy vehicles majority owned by French auto giant Renault.

Farasis Energy will soon begin to provide sodium-ion battery packs to Jiangling Motors for its electric sedan EV3, the Ganzhou-based supplier announced late yesterday.

As it has already converted some ternary lithium battery production lines at its Ganzhou plant into sodium-ion battery production lines, Farasis Energy will be able to meet Jiangling Motors' requirement to start mass production before June 30, the firm added.

It will be the first time for Farasis Energy's sodium-ion batteries to hit the market, helping the company to diversify its product lineup and meet the demands of different clients, it pointed out.

Sodium-ion batteries are very similar to lithium-ion batteries but are cheaper. They can be used as a substitute for lithium batteries in applications with relatively low energy density needs. The sodium-ion batteries already on the market are mainly used in the energy storage battery field and are rarely used in electric vehicles because EVs need batteries with higher energy density.

Founded in 2015, Jiangling Motors has launched several EV models. Renault became the firm's largest shareholder by investing CNY1 billion (USD144.9 million) for a 50 percent stake in July 2019.

Shares of Farasis Energy [SHA: 688567] rose 1 percent today to close at CNY24.62 (USD3.59) each.

Editor: Futura Costaglione