https://cleantechnica.com/2023/04/22/the-sodium-ion-battery-is-coming-to-production-cars-this-year/
The latest sodium batteries do not require scarce materials like
cobalt and nickel.
Despite being chemically similar, sodium-ion batteries today have considerably lower energy density than lithium batteries. That’s a detriment, but bear in mind that not too long ago, LFP batteries were woefully deficient in their energy storage capability. But today’s LFP batteries are nearly as energy dense as lithium-ion batteries were just a few years ago. Things are moving quickly in battery development. The sodium-ion batteries available today will likely improve just as quickly.
The
New York Times points out that because sodium-ion batteries have lower energy densities, more of them are needed to equal the energy capacity of lithium-ion batteries. That means more space is needed for a given amount of energy. That’s a problem for use in vehicles, but not an issue for grid-scale battery storage. Utilities that switch from lithium to sodium can simply put twice as many big batteries in an empty lot near solar panels or wind turbines, the
Times says.
There is one problem for China, however when it comes to manufacturing sodium batteries. It controls much of the sources for lithium worldwide, but has little access to the soda ash that is the source for the sodium needed to manufacture batteries.
The United States accounts for over 90% of the world’s readily mined reserves for soda ash.
Sodium is an attractive alternative to lithium because it costs only 2 to 3% as much as lithium. Imagine what that price difference could mean to the price of new electric vehicles! It is also largely immune to the decrease in performance that bedevils lithium-ion batteries today.
But sodium-ion technology is about where lithium-ion technology was a decade ago.
Cheers
These are only my thoughts and it does not constitute investment advice. Before acting on any information you read and before making any financial or investment decisions, you should always consult your advisor(s) or other relevant professional experts.
