MMC Norilsk Nickel and Rusnano state Corporation will begin implementing a project on sodium-ion batteries, said Sergey Kulikov, head of Rusnano, at a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Sodium-ion batteries have similar energy characteristics to lithium-ion batteries, but are much cheaper due to the fact that they do not use lithium. They are more durable, frost-resistant and charge faster, but they have a shorter service life and are still less common.