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 with the world’s archetypal portable powerfulness presumption built astir a sodium-ion battery, and a second, slim portion designed to equine adjacent to the 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 the bulk of household oregon camping devices. It besides accepts up to 500W of star input. But the prima of this amusement is its 900Wh sodium-ion artillery — a “world’s first,” according to Bluetti.

Take that assertion with a… pinch of salt, however, due to the fact that Bluetti announced a larger and much susceptible sodium-ion powerfulness presumption 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 archetypal sodium-ion powerfulness bank.

On the positive side, that sodium-ion (or Na-ion) chemistry allows the powerfulness presumption to beryllium utilized successful utmost acold — albeit with somewhat diminished performance, Bluetti warns. But you’ll inactive 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, the lithium robust phosphate (LFP) batteries recovered successful newer powerfulness stations shouldn’t beryllium charged beneath 0C (32F) and person an operating bounds of -20C (-4F). 

And similar LFP, Na-ion batteries are not prone to thermal runaway and are bully for implicit 4,000 cycles — that’s implicit 10 years if the Pioneer Na is cycled each day, and adjacent past it’ll inactive beryllium astatine 70 percent of its archetypal capacity. Sodium is plentiful and casual to find and frankincense avoids the usage of uncommon world metals similar cobalt oregon the lithium utilized successful LFP batteries. 

But here’s the catch: Manufacturing of Na-ion cells relies upon an immature proviso chain, and those cells can’t lucifer the vigor density of their LFP counterparts. As a result, Na-ion batteries thin to beryllium bigger, heavier, and much costly than LFP batteries of the 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 almighty 1,800W of output, and doubly the star input. So really, you’re lone buying this for usage successful highly acold conditions oregon if you privation to debar uncommon world minerals.

The Pioneer Na volition spell connected merchantability 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 capableness (2kWh) and output (1,800W) to support an mean fridge-freezer combo moving — checks chart — for astir a afloat time successful the lawsuit of a blackout. If you request much clip oregon privation to powerfulness further appliances, past you tin grow retention capableness with up to 3 enlargement 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 rival to BioLite’s ain behind-the-fridge artillery backup solution that has yet to deed retail adjacent though it was announced successful September 2024. The Bluetti FridgePower goes connected merchantability worldwide starting November 4th for an undisclosed price.