World’s First Sodium-ion Portable Power Station Is Ready For Extreme Cold

Real men usage electrical chainsaws successful temperatures down to -25C (-13F). | Image: Bluetti

Bluetti’s astatine IFA 2025 pinch nan world’s first portable powerfulness position built astir a sodium-ion battery, and a second, slim portion designed to equine adjacent to nan fridge to support it moving during a blackout.

The Pioneer Na (get it? Na = sodium) is covered successful AC and USB jacks and delivers up to 1,500W of continuous power, which is capable for nan mostly of family aliases camping devices. It besides accepts up to 500W of star input. But nan prima of this show is its 900Wh sodium-ion artillery — a “world’s first,” according to Bluetti.

Take that declare pinch a… pinch of salt, however, because Bluetti announced a larger and much tin sodium-ion powerfulness position connected wheels back successful 2021. It’s unclear, however, if that portion ever went connected sale. The Pioneer Na besides arrives a fewer months aft Elecom launched the world’s first sodium-ion powerfulness bank.

On nan positive side, that sodium-ion (or Na-ion) chemistry allows nan powerfulness position to beryllium utilized successful utmost acold — albeit pinch somewhat diminished performance, Bluetti warns. But you’ll still beryllium capable to complaint it successful temperatures down to -15 degrees Celsius (5 degrees Fahrenheit), and powerfulness your devices arsenic temps plummet to -25C (-13F). By comparison, nan lithium robust phosphate (LFP) batteries recovered successful newer powerfulness stations shouldn’t beryllium charged beneath 0C (32F) and person an operating limit of -20C (-4F). 

And for illustration LFP, Na-ion batteries are not prone to thermal runaway and are bully for complete 4,000 cycles — that’s complete 10 years if nan Pioneer Na is cycled each day, and moreover past it’ll still beryllium astatine 70 percent of its original capacity. Sodium is plentiful and easy to find and frankincense avoids nan usage of uncommon world metals for illustration cobalt aliases nan lithium utilized successful LFP batteries. 

But here’s nan catch: Manufacturing of Na-ion cells relies upon an immature proviso chain, and those cells can’t lucifer nan power density of their LFP counterparts. As a result, Na-ion batteries thin to beryllium bigger, heavier, and much costly than LFP batteries of nan aforesaid capacity. 

The Pioneer Na weighs 16kg (35.3lbs) and measures 340 × 247 × 317mm. That makes it overmuch heavier and larger than Bluetti’s 11.5kg (25lb) Elite 100 V2, which measures 320 × 215 x 250mm and features a somewhat larger 1kWh LFP battery, much powerful 1,800W of output, and doubly nan star input. So really, you’re only buying this for usage successful highly acold conditions aliases if you want to debar uncommon world minerals.

The Pioneer Na will spell connected waste globally starting October 15th for an undisclosed price.

Meanwhile, Bluetti’s FridgePower Portable Power Station is conscionable 2.95 inches heavy yet has capable artillery capacity (2kWh) and output (1,800W) to support an mean fridge-freezer combo moving — checks chart — for astir a afloat time successful nan arena of a blackout. If you request much clip aliases want to powerfulness further appliances, past you tin grow retention capacity pinch up to 3 description packs for a full of 8k Wh. It’s unclear what artillery chemistry they’re using, but it’s not sodium-ion.

FridgePower is simply a nonstop competitor to BioLite’s ain behind-the-fridge artillery backup solution that has yet to deed unit moreover though it was announced successful September 2024. The Bluetti FridgePower goes connected waste worldwide starting November 4th for an undisclosed price.