CATL's Sodium-Ion Battery: Better than Lithium?

Contemporary Amperex Technology or CATL recently unveiled their first generation sodium ion batteries for commercial use. I have been hearing a lot about this technology and thought that it would be worth talking about.

Scientists started off developing sodium ion batteries right alongside lithium ion batteries. Over time, lithium rose to dominance and sodium fell by the wayside. But now things have changed, and sodium ion batteries have started to see renewed interest.

In this video, we will briefly review sodium ion batteries, their state of development, and what their commercialization means for the renewable energy market at large.

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[Asianometry]

Thanks for watching. Like and subscribe, all that jazz.

[papparocket]

One factor that always needs to be included in statements of energy density, but almost never is, is the energy density at the totally integrated pack level. While this is hard to state with great precision because the variations of each individual installation, it is possible to identify features of a specific battery that will strongly impact the weight of the non-battery portions of the pack, such as thermal isolation to control thermal runaway of a single cell so it doesn't cause a cascading failure of the entire pack and the cooling system (which should include the weight of the cooling equipment outside the pack itself like cooling lines, coolant, pumps, radiators and fans).

A new battery like these Na-ion might only have an energy density at the cell level of 180-200 Wh/kg while the latest Li-ion are up around 280 Wh/kg, but the high flammability of the electrolyte of the Li-ion battery and the accelerated degradation when cell temperatures are not tightly controlled result in a considerable addition to the total pack weight and a commensurate reduction in net energy density. If a new battery chemistry like this Na-ion cells doesn't have the flammability and thermal runaway issues and so don't require careful thermal isolation between every cell and if they can retain their charge capacity even at elevated temperatures, then a lot of weight can be eliminated from the battery pack. The result would be that the fully integrated net energy density could be much closer or potentially even superior to Li-ion batteries.

And if the new battery is cheaper and/or has a longer cycle life, even if the pack energy density is still slightly lower, these types of batteries could still win out over Li-ion batteries in applications like large commercial vehicles which might be less sensitive to weight/range and more sensitive to total lifecycle cost and reliability/safety.

[andersjjensen]

Considering how much of an EV is battery cost then 10-30% cost reduction on the batteries could absolutely be worthwhile. Even if the energy density is a little less.

[ericapelz]

One major benefit of LifePo4 batteries over L-ion is that LifePo4 batteries are not subject to thermal runaway fires. There was no mention of this aspect of Na-ion. I see the lower cost of Na-ion or other non lithium technologies as a secondary driver. The primary driver is that by using them in stationary applications where density is not as critical, you can save the lithium for the applications where it does matter. For my residential solar, I could double the volume of my battery with little if any downside, and weight would only be relevant for shipping.

[Bmorvape_andy]

We are proud of CATL, such a big leading EV battery maker in China.

[nach]

For those wandering energy density of different Battery Chemistries for comparison: (in Wh/kg)
LTO: 50-80
LCO: 150-200
LNMC: 150-220
LFP: 90-160

The sodium battery on this video presumably achieves 160Wh/kg, same as LFPs. Very nice indeed.

PD:
LTO = Lithium Titanate
LCO = Lithium Cobalt Oxide
LNMC = Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide
LFP = Lithium Iron Phosphate

[p-jbroodbakker]

Another great video!!
I'm also impressed that you found all that historical info on Na+ battery tech.
Keep up the good work!

[TedApelt]

Thank you for producing this. Many people are unaware that while sodium ion batteries and calcium ion batteries are too heavy for electric cars, they are great for storing utility scale power where weight is unimportant. Also, I can't see how we could possibly run out of sodium!

[cubicuboctahedron]

I would imagine that CATL benefits from having in-house manufacturing know-how to help them come up with realistic costs and production modeling.

[rabad]

you have the best channel i've found in quite awhile. Best, meaning comprehensive view of diverse set of topics, i think pretty balanced, and engaging visuals

[pgobservers]

Research affirms the potential of low-cost and high-performance sodium-ion batteries to gain a strong foothold in the battery market. As the world increasingly looks for safe and sustainable energy storage, sodium-ion technology innovation is only going to get better in the future. Now every country when mentioning battery thermal runaway, the fire fighters shivered.

[Moist_yet_Crispy]

When it comes to any battery based on crystalline structures it's always a question of doping. The Na-ion battery hasn't yet received the attention needed to test the wide range of doping capabilities possible. We know that some of the most efficient biological systems out there use sodium but the question is can we dope the salt crystal while still keeping it stable / and redesign the structure to accommodate the anode and cathode based on the direction of the lattice structure. I'm just a noob but if we can more easily control the structure of the lattice of the material in question then that would result in cheaper manufacturing I'd think. I hold to hope for this technology.

[byram]

Very well presented with a pletora of essential details. Thanks!

[TheSulross]

after that Tesla grid storage Lithium battery just caught on fire in Australia, am not very inclined to have a Tesla Powerwall battery in the home. A less efficient, bulkier battery tech would be perfectly fine in that scenario if it offered much greater peace of mind so far as safety goes.

[Scrogan]

Note the difference between the wide class of “sodium batteries” and the more specific “sodium ion batteries”. I’d say that within that wider class, there are “sodium ion”, “sodium metal”, and “molten sodium” battery chemistries. The advantage of sodium ion cells is they’re basically designed to compete with lithium ion cells, which have the high energy and power densities needed for electric cars. That said, the complex manufacturing process and potential for dendrites make these still not as optimal as they could be, especially for grid storage. “Sodium metal” batteries would consist of batteries with a solid sodium metal electrode, would likely be primary cells without some rather strange electrolyte, and could be major fire hazards when punctured. “Molten sodium” cells are even worse for danger, and also have that heat problem you mentioned, but they’re basically impervious to dendrites or other electrode damage, since the electrodes are liquid. There are also notable alloys like NaK and GalInStan that are liquid at room temperature and would hence have no heating overhead, and there are also some strange salts that are molten at room temperature. Importantly, these molten cells have very simple internals, and are more promising for grid storage where weight doesn’t matter. For grid storage to be viable for a country like Germany to switch off all its coal and solely rely on solar and wind, it needs to be orders of magnitude cheaper than lithium ion.

[rusitoexplorador]

Really appreciate your research. Very good video

[LeoStaley]

Your videos keep getting suggested to me, and I click, enjoy, and decide to subscribe only to find that I'm already subbed. Compelling high quality content.

[michaeldixon]

Very good audio and visual. Clear and concise. I look forward to your next video. Keep up the good work. This type of video is much appreciated.

[موسى_]

Yes, better than Lithium. Price is more important than range, especially for cities! We need more 50-250 mile EVs! Or rather, we have enough at the top of that range, but we need them to be cheaper!

[akpurebeatzrecords]

It makes me proud to know that I work for this company. On the other hand, it makes me happy to see what advances are being made in technology and CATL is thus forward-looking

Greetings from Germany