1Ah NFM Sodium-Ion Pouch Cell for Research

1Ah NFM Sodium-Ion Pouch Cell Unfilled for Research - TOB-CU-PO-S1-10H101

425868 format, NFM cathode and hard carbon anode, stacking architecture, supplied dry and unfilled so electrolyte formulation and formation stay in your hands

Product Overview and Ideal Applications

The TOB-CU-PO-S1-10H101 is a pre-engineered, unfilled sodium-ion pouch cell built on a stacking architecture, using a nickel-iron-manganese-oxide (NFM) cathode and an imported hard carbon anode. It arrives dry, with no electrolyte inside. That single decision is the point of the product: the electrolyte and the formation protocol are the two variables most sodium-ion programmes are actually trying to study, and a cell that already contains both removes the ability to study them.

The cell is 1 Ah nominal in a 425868 format, a 68 by 58 mm body no thicker than 4.2 mm. Electrode loading is specified rather than left as a black box: the cathode is coated at 13.84 mg/cm2 single-sided areal density and compacted to 2.70 g/cc, the anode at 6.42 mg/cm2 and 0.95 g/cc. Those figures are what let you normalise your electrochemical data against the active material rather than against an unknown baseline, and they are verified on production samples through in-house coin cell and pouch cell test lines.

The cell sits at a specific point in a development programme. It is not a coin cell, so the electrode area and the stacking geometry are representative enough to translate; it is not an A-sample, so it is not the cell you put in a pack. It is the step where a promising coin-cell chemistry is confirmed to survive a real pouch format, and it is deliberately built on the same stacking process used in pilot production rather than as a one-off laboratory artefact.

What it will not do is tell you how your formulation behaves in a large-format cell or over a thousand cycles. Those are properties of your system and your protocol, and no supplier cell can answer them for you.

Ideal for:

• Sodium-ion electrolyte screening, including additive packages, co-solvents and alternative sodium salts, without fighting SEI already formed by someone else's electrolyte
• Formation protocol development, where the current steps, temperature and stack pressure are the variables under test
• Cathode material qualification, using a fixed reference cell rather than a self-built electrode
• Bridging coin-cell screening to A-sample prototyping on a format that already reflects production geometry
• Labs that want a repeatable reference cell across a project, so results from different months can be compared

Two neighbouring cells are usually compared at the same time, and the difference is the question being asked. The 15Ah 3.85V anode-free pouch cell keeps lithium and removes the anode, so it tests plating rather than sodium chemistry. The sodium-ion 73174207 prismatic cell is the format match where the downstream pack is already fixed to a hard can. If the programme is heading towards a production line, the pouch cell assembly equipment range is where the same stacking process is scaled.

Tell us which electrolyte system you are developing and we will send the specification sheet and baseline cycling data for this cell, including the recommended fill volume.

Complete Specifications

Electrode metrics are stated because they are the numbers you need in order to normalise your own results. They are measured on production samples, not on a single development build.

1. Cell Format and Electrode Metrics

2. Recommended Electrolyte and Formation Baseline

The two protocols are supplied as starting points rather than as the only correct answer. If your electrolyte has notably different ionic conductivity or SEI formation kinetics, the 0.05C and 0.1C steps are the ones to change first, and running our protocol unchanged as a comparative benchmark before you adapt it is the faster route to a result you can trust.

3. Batch Release Criteria

A batch is released against these criteria rather than against a visual check, which is what makes the cell usable as a reference across a multi-month project: the cell you buy in month six is held to the same limits as the one you characterised in month one.

Choosing Between This Cell and the Other Research Cells

A buyer comparing these cells is deciding which variable to remove first, not which cell performs best. They differ in chemistry, in delivery state and in the equipment you have to own before the first data point exists.

The order that usually works: start with the unfilled cell while the electrolyte is still open, because it is the only one of the three where you control the formulation. Move to the anode-free cell once the electrolyte is settled, since plating quality depends on it. Add the prismatic cell only when the format decision is already made, because it cannot be compared with the pouch results on geometry.

One practical warning: an unfilled cell has no performance until you fill it well. If your dry room is not at a comparable dew point, the first cycle will measure your humidity control rather than your chemistry, and the comparison to our baseline is not valid.

Why an Unfilled Cell Is the Right Starting Point

Most sodium-ion research fails to reproduce published results for a reason that has nothing to do with the cathode: the cell arrived with an electrolyte already inside it, the SEI was already formed, and the researcher is measuring a system they did not define. An unfilled cell removes that ambiguity. There is no electrolyte, no SEI and no formation history, so whatever happens in the first cycle is attributable to your formulation and your protocol.

That control has a price, and it is worth stating plainly. You need a dry room or glove box at a dew point that will not contaminate a sodium system, you need filling and sealing equipment, and you need a formation cycler with a protocol you have thought about. If any of those is missing, the unfilled cell is the wrong purchase and a finished cell is the faster route to a first data point.

The second reason is electrode loading transparency. Published specific capacity figures are meaningless without the areal density and compaction they were measured at, and third-party cells routinely omit both. Here the cathode is 13.84 mg/cm2 at 2.70 g/cc and the anode 6.42 mg/cm2 at 0.95 g/cc, with 127 mAh/g and 300 mAh/g quoted on an active-material basis. That is enough to convert your measured capacity into a material-level number and compare it with literature directly, instead of reporting a cell-level figure nobody can reproduce.

The third reason is that stacking rather than winding puts the geometry closer to what a pilot line will build. A small single-sheet laboratory cell is convenient and almost useless for scale-up, because the thermal and pressure uniformity it experiences do not exist in a stacked pouch. Building on a stacked 425868 format means the pressure distribution under hot-press formation is representative, which is precisely the variable that changes when a process moves from lab to line.

Key Engineering Characteristics

• Supplied dry and unfilled, with a recommended baseline electrolyte. TOB-NF96F at 6.0 g is the formulation used to establish the published performance, so you have a reference point before you change anything.
• Electrode metrics published, not withheld. 13.84 mg/cm2 cathode and 6.42 mg/cm2 anode areal density, with compaction and active-material specific capacity, so results can be normalised rather than taken on trust.
• Stacked 425868 geometry. A 68 x 58 mm body at 4.2 mm or less, matching a production-relevant pouch rather than a laboratory single-sheet cell.
• Two field-tested formation protocols. Hot press at 45 degrees C and 0.9 MPa, and a Neware-compatible standard route at 25 degrees C and 0.2 MPa, both supplied as starting points.
• Lithium-free chemistry. No lithium in the cell at any stage, which changes handling requirements, transport classification and the raw-material cost structure compared with a lithium-ion cell.
• Batch release against numbers, not appearance. Capacity variance within 2%, thickness within 0.1 mm, assembled at a -50 degrees C dew point, with reference cycling on every batch.
• Gas bag and protective sleeve supplied. The sleeve is transport protection and comes off before clamping; the gas bag is a formation reservoir you cut and reseal after formation.

Operating Sequence, Safety and Maintenance

1. From Unpacking to First Formation

1. Move the cell into the dry room or glove box before opening the vacuum packaging. An unfilled cell is more sensitive to moisture than a finished one because there is no electrolyte to occupy the interior.
2. Remove the rubber protective sleeve completely. It is transport protection only and it must not be inside the fixture.
3. Check the pouch for mechanical damage and confirm the electrode stack area before filling. A dented or creased pouch should not be filled.
4. Fill with your electrolyte, 6.0 g if you are reproducing the TOB-NF96F baseline, and seal under vacuum. Record the actual fill mass; it becomes a variable the moment it deviates.
5. Clamp the cell so that pressure acts on the electrode stack area only. Never clamp across the tab sealant zone, which is the most common way a good cell is turned into a leaking one.
6. Run formation using 45 degrees C and 0.9 MPa with hot press, or 25 degrees C and 0.2 MPa for the standard route, starting at 0.05C and stepping to 0.1C. Record temperature, pressure and both current steps.
7. After formation, cut and reseal the gas bag under vacuum or inert atmosphere, depending on what your post-formation analysis requires. Do not leave an open gas bag in a dry room overnight.

2. Safety and Dry-Room Practice

Sodium metal and sodium-ion electrolytes react with moisture, so the whole workflow belongs inside the dry environment rather than partly outside it. Wear appropriate gloves and eye protection, keep electrolyte away from water and from any open container of solvent, and work with the cell on a surface that will not puncture the pouch. An unfilled cell has no electrical energy to release, but it also has no electrolyte to suppress a thermal event if the stack is mechanically damaged, so treat a damaged pouch as a disposal item rather than a test sample.

3. Storage and Handling of Unfilled Cells

Keep unfilled cells in their vacuum packaging, in the dry environment, and use them in the order received. There is no self-discharge to manage and no state of charge to maintain, which is one advantage of an unfilled cell, but moisture ingress through the pouch edge is cumulative and does not reverse. The parts that fail first in practice are the seal area and the tube fitting, not the electrode stack: inspect the seal line before filling, and discard any cell whose packaging has lost vacuum.

Engineering FAQ

Q: What does unfilled mean, and what do I have to provide?

The cell arrives dry, with no electrolyte inside and no formation history. You provide the electrolyte, the filling and vacuum sealing, and the formation protocol. If you want to reproduce our baseline, use TOB-NF96F at 6.0 g and the formation route in the specification table; if you are testing your own formulation, everything after the fill is yours to define.

Q: The cell comes with a rubber protective sleeve and a gas bag. How do I handle them before testing?

The rubber sleeve is for mechanical protection during transport only; remove it fully before clamping the cell in your fixture. The gas bag is a reservoir during formation. After formation, cut and reseal the pouch under vacuum or inert atmosphere, depending on your post-formation analysis plan. When clamping, ensure the fixture applies pressure to the electrode stack area only and never clamp the tab sealant zone.

Q: How do you keep batch-to-batch consistency if this cell is meant to be a research standard?

Every batch is statistically sampled for thickness, electrode loading and reference cycling with the standard electrolyte and formation protocol, under dry-room conditions at a -50 degrees C dew point. A batch is released only when capacity variance across samples is within 2% and thickness within 0.1 mm. Those measurements come from our own coin cell and pouch cell test lines, the same pilot infrastructure used for process development work.

Q: Can I use my own electrolyte instead of TOB-NF96F?

Yes, and that is the normal use of this cell. Run our baseline first with TOB-NF96F, then run yours under the same protocol, so the comparison isolates the electrolyte rather than mixing a chemistry change with a protocol change. If your electrolyte differs in ionic conductivity or SEI formation kinetics, the 0.05C and 0.1C formation steps are the first parameters to adapt.

Q: Which formation protocol should I start with, hot press or standard?

Start with the standard route at 25 degrees C and 0.2 MPa if you need a Neware-compatible protocol with the least equipment, and with the hot-press route at 45 degrees C and 0.9 MPa if your interest is interfacial contact and you have a press that can hold that pressure evenly. The hot-press route gives more uniform contact and is closer to production; the standard route is faster to set up and easier to repeat across labs.

Q: Is this cell suitable as an A-sample?

No. It is a research and development platform, built to be repeatable rather than to be qualified. It is the step between coin-cell screening and A-sample prototyping, and the 425868 format is chosen so that what you learn here translates into a stacked pouch A-sample rather than into a scaled-up coin cell. If you need an A-sample, tell us the target format and we will quote the development route rather than sell you a research cell as if it were one.

Case Studies and Project Record

The projects below are line-building and process-development projects TOB has delivered for cell manufacturers. They are not cell supply contracts, and they are not presented as customer references for this product. They are listed because stacking, electrolyte handling and formation control are the same engineering problems at line scale as they are in a single pouch cell, and this is where that experience was built.

The full portfolio, including supercapacitor and solid-state lines, is on the projects page. Where a client agrees, we will arrange a technical discussion with the project engineer rather than offering a logo wall.

Company Certifications (Organisation-Level)

The three registrations below are held by XIAMEN TOB NEW ENERGY TECHNOLOGY Co., Ltd. and cover its management system. They are company-level certificates, not a type-approval of this individual cell. They are listed here because the manufacturing, quality and safety processes behind this product sit inside that certified system.

Scope of registration (all three certificates): research, design, manufacture, sale, import and export of laboratory machines, pilot line machines and production line machines; battery materials and battery technologies including dry electrode technology for lithium-ion batteries, sodium-ion batteries, solid-state batteries, lithium-sulfur batteries and supercapacitors; implementation of battery and supercapacitor production line projects; research, design, manufacture and sale of batteries, supercapacitors and printed circuit boards (PCBs).

The scope explicitly includes the research, design, manufacture and sale of batteries, which is the activity this cell falls under. Certificates are issued by QRO Certification LLP, valid subject to annual surveillance audit, and can be verified at qro-cert.org. Copies are available on request.

Tell us your electrolyte system and formation plan, and we will send the specification sheet and baseline cycling data so you can judge the starting point before you order.

Email: tob.amy@tobmachine.com | Phone: +86 181 2071 5609

Reviewed by: Pinery Gong, Battery Assembly and Yield Process, XIAMEN TOB NEW ENERGY TECHNOLOGY Co., Ltd. | Last updated: 2026-11-04