![Natron building a sodium-ion batteries gigaplant](/media/k2/items/cache/d7f73b25c709f26c647786e3d6b3aa9e_Generic.jpg)
Natron building a sodium-ion batteries gigaplant
Costs $1.4 billion
A US company is building a $1.4 billion gigaplant for a cheaper and more environmentally friendly alternative to lithium-ion batteries.
![Lithium battery prices set to rise](/media/k2/items/cache/411ef40934b9bff736cd2191d97a2cc9_Generic.jpg)
Lithium battery prices set to rise
Short supply
The prices of Lithium batteries are set to rise because of a production shortage which could result in a general electronics price hike.
![Nissan wants to sell its battery stake](/media/k2/items/cache/0806e742f4fb2078c6e98240951b2936_Generic.jpg)
Nissan wants to sell its battery stake
She's electric
Nissan Motors is in talks with Panasonic and others over its controlling stake in a car battery manufacturing venture, sources said.
![UCI researcher discovers important Li-Ion battery breakthrough](/media/k2/items/cache/35efb7ac0b0ba4e377473d3f4ff4df26_Generic.jpg)
UCI researcher discovers important Li-Ion battery breakthrough
MnO2-coated batteries can now last 400 years, 200,000 cycles
Doctoral research student Maya Le Thai was working in her laboratory with nanobatteries one day when she decided to try a new approach. She coated an entire gold nanowire with a manganese dioxide MnO2 shell and covered the assembly with a "plexiglass-like" electrolyte gel, but the resulting outcome was completely unexpected.