American and European companies are racing to develop new batteries for electric vehicles using two readily available and less costly materials: sodium and sulfur.

美国和欧洲的公司正在竞相开发新的电动汽车电池，其使用的是两种容易获得且成本更低的材料：钠和硫。

The new batteries could help bring more electric vehicles, or EVs, to the market and reduce China’s lead in battery production.

新电池可能有助于将更多电动汽车推向市场，并削弱中国在电池生产方面的领先地位。

Today's EVs run on lithium-ion batteries which cost about $10,000 to $12,000 to make.

如今的电动汽车使用锂离子电池，制造成本约为1万至1.2万美元。

They are mostly made with lithium, cobalt, manganese and nickel.

它们主要由锂、钴、锰和镍制成。

And the materials have increased in price during the last two years.

在过去的两年里，这些材料的价格有所上涨。

The new batteries under development could cost one-third to two-thirds less.

正在开发的新电池的成本可能会降低三分之一到三分之二。

But their promise depends on overcoming difficulties in working with the materials.

但他们的希望取决于克服处理材料的困难。

Sodium does not hold as much energy, while sulfur can easily damage key parts of a battery.

钠不能储存太多的能量，而硫很容易损坏电池的关键部件。

Still, companies have brought in millions of dollars and government support to develop new kinds of batteries - called sodium-ion or lithium-sulfur.

尽管如此，企业还是投入了数百万美元的资金并得到了政府的支持来开发新型电池——钠离子电池或锂硫电池。

Several firms in the United States, Germany, and Norway are developing lithium-sulfur batteries that do not need the costly nickel or cobalt.

美国、德国和挪威的一些公司正在开发不需要昂贵的镍或钴的锂硫电池。

They include Lyten and Conamix in the U.S., Germany's Theion and Norway's Morrow.

其中包括美国的Lyten和Conamix，德国的Theion和挪威的Morrow。

Ulrich Ehmes is the chief executive of Theion in Berlin, Germany.

乌尔里希·埃姆斯是位于德国柏林的Theion公司的首席执行官。

He says sulfur is so corrosive that it kills a battery after 30 charges.

他说，硫的腐蚀性很强，充电30次后电池就会坏掉。

But he said the company has developed a way to protect the lithium-sulfur electrode so it can last an EV's lifetime.

但他说，该公司已经开发出一种保护锂硫电极的方法，这样它就可以延长电动汽车的使用寿命。

An electrode is an element through which electricity flows into or out of a battery or other device.

电极是一种元件，电流通过它流入或流出电池或其他设备。

Ehmes believes its lithium-sulfur batteries could hold three times more energy than the most powerful lithium-ion batteries.

埃姆斯认为，该公司研发的锂硫电池的能量可能是最强大的锂离子电池的三倍。

He says sulfur batteries charge very fast and cut battery costs by two-thirds.

他说，硫电池充电速度非常快，可以将电池成本降低三分之二。

Current lithium-ion batteries generally keep their power for 160,000 to 320,000 kilometers of driving.

目前的锂离子电池一般能保持16万至32万公里的续航里程。

"It's cheap, it's high energy density, so it seems to be a no-brainer," Ehmes said.

埃姆斯说：“它价格便宜，而且能量密度高，所以看起来很简单”。

Ehmes said the company plans to begin tests with automakers in 2024.

埃姆斯表示，该公司计划在2024年开始与汽车制造商进行测试。

And he expects the first production for EV use around 2027.

他预计第一批电池会在2027年左右用于电动汽车。

U.S.-based Amandarry and British company AMTE Power are developing sodium-ion batteries.

总部位于美国的Amandarry和英国公司AMTE Power正在开发钠离子电池。

They do not need cobalt, nickel, and even lithium which are the three most expensive battery materials.

它们不需要钴、镍，甚至锂这三种最昂贵的电池材料。

Sodium-ion batteries could be useful for EVs that require less power.

钠离子电池可用于需要较少电力的电动汽车。

Amy Chen is an executive at Amandarry.

艾米·陈是Amandarry的一名高管。

She said the first use of its batteries will likely be electric two-wheelers.

她说，首次使用该公司生产的电池的可能是电动两轮车。

In addition to lower cost, Chen said Amandarry's batteries can charge really fast — 80 percent in 15 minutes.

陈表示，除了成本较低外，Amandarry生产的电池充电速度非常快——15分钟即可充电80%。

AMTE Power chief Kevin Brundish said his company is planning to launch its batteries for storage systems where energy demand is lower.

AMTE Power首席执行官凯文·布兰迪什表示，他的公司正计划推出用于能源需求较低的存储系统的电池。

Some Asian firms are also working on these new kinds of batteries.

一些亚洲公司也在研究这些新型电池。

China's CATL has said it plans to begin producing sodium-ion batteries in 2023.

中国的宁德时代表示，其计划在2023年开始生产钠离子电池。

And Korea's LG Energy Solution aims to start making lithium-sulfur batteries by 2025.

韩国的LG新能源计划在2025年前开始生产锂硫电池。

Some automakers are testing new types of batteries and keeping an eye on their development.

一些汽车制造商正在测试新型电池，并密切关注它们的发展。

"Over time, more (battery) chemistries will come out," said Linda Zhang, chief engineer on Ford's F150 Lightning electric truck. "It would be silly not to take advantage of those chemistries."

福特F150 Lightning电动卡车的总工程师琳达·张说：“随着时间的推移，会出现更多（电池）化学物质。不利用这些化学物质是愚蠢的。”

I’m Andrew Smith.

安德鲁·史密斯为您播报。 

来源：可可英语