Sodium Ion Battery Vs Lithium Iron Phosphate Battery

I have seen so many clickbait videos about promising 400% capacity of lithium. Let's get real and compare the real specifications.

Welcome to my latest video, where I delve into the innovative realm of Sodium-ion batteries (Na+,, or SIB) a technology to redefine energy storage. This video presents a thorough comparison with the established Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries (LiFePO4), offering you an insightful look into the nuances and potential of Sodium-ion technology.

I begin with an analysis of a 220Ah Sodium-ion battery, examining key specifications such as nominal voltage, charge voltage, and energy density. A highlight of the discussion is the battery's capability to charge in sub-zero temperatures, an advancement over traditional Lithium batteries.

The video also addresses safety aspects and tests conducted under extreme conditions. These tests demonstrate that Sodium-ion batteries are on par with Lithium in terms of safety, effectively handling high temperatures and short-circuit situations without catastrophic outcomes.

A comparative analysis between Sodium-ion and lithium-iron phosphate batteries forms the core of the video. This comparison encompasses cycle life, material availability, energy density, safety profile, charging and discharging rates, operational temperature ranges, and cost implications. Special attention is given to the potential applicability of Sodium-ion batteries in solar installations and their efficiency in colder climates.

Furthermore, the video provides practical insights into the implications of Sodium-ion batteries' voltage range on inverter functionality and the necessity for manual programming of Battery Management Systems. This segment is aimed at offering pragmatic advice to those interested in integrating this technology into their systems.

The video concludes with a forward-looking perspective on the future of Sodium-ion batteries, emphasizing their sustainability and reduced dependence on rare-earth materials. This makes them a compelling option for stationary applications.

00:00 Introduction
00:25 Datasheet overview
01:45 Safety
02:49 Voltage Chart
03:09 LifePO4 vs Sodium-ion Comparison
05:14 DIY solar power diagrams
05:36 Price of Sodium-ion Batteries
05:59 Practical Implications

[guygordon]

Wow, that discharge slope looks awful. I love how the narrator says "This makes the state of charge easy to measure with a volt meter." Well yeah, but that's totally insignificant compared to all the problems it causes. The long voltage plateau in the Li-Ion discharge is one of the greatest things about Lithium batteries.

[corborst]

The wide working voltage range of sodium batteries are not favourable, i like that LiFePo4 has a dead flat discharge curve between 90 and 10% SOC, and prices have come down quite a bit since the old thundersky/calb batteries from 10 years ago, also in energy density has improved tremendously.

[realeyesrealizereallies]

Yes, once the infrastructure is in place, Sodium ion can surely replace LIFEPO4 for solar and back up situations..I would suspect the cells will be half the cost..I'm extremely happy with my Catl LIFEPO4 cells, they tested at 292 Ah's when they were brand new, over 3 years ago, and test at 288 Ah's last month, still well over their 280Ah rated capacity..And I'm totally off grid, and they power everything in my house, everyday..They do have a 10, 000 cycle life to 80%, a good bit better than your average LIFEPO4 cells.They were manufactured for the EV market, I believe..

[egaskrad]

Nice to see a side by side comparison table. It makes everything so much clearer.

[moziani]

Nice video. Sodium-ion are clearly for the future. Most people are looking for plug and play and the best info to make good decisions when designing their system. Maybe you can give your take on prismatics and pouce cell here or in a video. For me its hell of job to make sense of the product line of for example Litime. smart, plus, mini. and more.

Another idea for a video is server rack vs old school lifep04.
Thanks for your efforts to make things a bit more clear for us.

[GSchu-tztj]

We received the same specification a few days ago. When I was looking on the SOC OCV chart for the first time, I was terrified since you either need to have a wide inverter input or you can't use the whole capacity. What I'm missing even more is data about Round Trip Efficiency (often 3 x times - full charge - discharge cycle) !! My expertise with LFP/C is that they can reach RTE of 95-96 % (Benergy, EVE, 50 Ah). The voltage gap between charge and discharge with sodium ion doesn't seem promising in this regard. Do you have data?? Also, what is about calendaric aging ? Data is out there for LFP/C. Last but not least - concerning costs, we see market prices in January 2024 for 280 Ah cells from Hithium and REPT for 56/54 €/pcs without transport - resulting in approx 60 USD/kWh. I agree that Na-ion will keep the cost pressure on LFP high. By the way - what does the voltage/SOC graph look like @ low temperatures?

[wlhgmk]

Could you do a similar comparison between Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries and ZnBr batteries (both the Redflow and Gelion). No one suggests that these will be useful for mobile applications but look at them for static applications. For home use, the most important factors for me are 1)longevity, 2) price and 3) hands off operation.

[Deveak]

The voltage range seems like it would play mostly nice with most common inverters in a 4S config. Bottom shut off is typically 10 volts so roughly 10% left in the battery. 15 volts is the usual max for most cheap inverters. Better ones 15.5 and true solar units are 17. So you are likely going to only be able to charge it to 90%. If it functions like most lithium batteries do, this will increase its cycle life so the voltage range is actually ideal. Love how its discharge curve makes it easy to read.

[mannyfragoza]

The most prominent advantage would be that Sodium has an advantage in Cold weather, and could be appealing to those who live in cold climates. Other than that it I prefer LiFePO4 Batteries.

[flotsamike]

The sodium ions charge range of between 1.4 volts and 3.65 volts would almost require two different inverters over its range . If you were to try to use the current from it directly your power would drop continuously until it was less than half what you started with.

[andreasw]

Higher Voltage is also nice for a 16s energy storage system. less current (some did already built 18s before). Also with the better temperature range for charging, it can easily be placed in the garage, where lifepo had to be placed on heating pads to be charged on sunny but ice cold winter days.

[johnshaw]

The voltage range possibly means series wiring in practice, and possibly boost conversion otherwise quite a bit of current needed below 3v for power apps. Could be useful for EVs sold in colder climates and niche applications.

[NeblogaiLT]

Nice to see a sodium battery with a claimed 4000-cycle life (at 80%+). Thus far, I only saw announcements of one with 2000 cycles, (IIRC, to be used in bikes in Asia). It will be really interesting to follow the tests and experiences from enthusiasts who run them hard. And hopefully the tech advances fast, as LFP is now cheaper, denser, and can be at least (Edit:) 215Wh/kg (CATL M3P).

[josepeixoto]

Special inverters needed now, due to the humungus variation in voltage, from near 1 Volt to almost 4 Volts; every new solution brings new prolems, it's very true here too, with Sodium batteries, NaBs .

[timlk]

How much cheaper do you think sodium ion could get than lithium? Is the lithium a major expense of a battery and is sodium radically cheaper? Great video. Thx.

[BlipsNchitz-zqyo]

please do these tests !!!! perfect video

[roginutah]

That 113F max charging temp could be trouble. Ambient temps often go 100F. And if you put some stress on the battery it may easily go over 113. Good for cooler climates, though. Any mods needed for your inverter to work at the wider range of voltage?

[rilosvideos]

No question for now - the LFP will always win! The discharge curve is a desaster the only advantages are the materials used for Na+ (no expensive and problematic materials) and the better temperature stability esp. in cold state. Prices will also go done as production raises. They will (and need to) be cheaper than LFP soon i guess. But i would still stick to LFP if weight and volume matter.

[shridharparmesh]

This video is very informative for my thesis. I would like to know which company's sodium battery you used for the comparison? I mean, the data sheet is from which sodium battery manufacturer?

[hotbird]

hmmm, the voltage chart is actually quite useful in some scenarios, for example, I was trying to monitor solar voltage switching for a project but lifepo4 batteries were a real pain by using voltage monitoring as it does not reflect true soc. This got me really excited now, Thanx for the useful info 👊👍