How Sodium-Ion Batteries May Challenge Lithium

Lithium-ion batteries are king. They are ubiquitous in everything from consumer electronics to electric vehicles. They are even used to store excess renewable energy. But demand for the critical minerals needed to make lithium-ion batteries is predicted to outstrip supply. That, combined with cost considerations and concerns over energy security are leading companies to consider alternative battery chemistries. One of the most promising is the sodium-ion battery. But there are challenges ahead since sodium batteries are larger and have a lower energy density than lithium-ion batteries.

Chinese battery giant CATL recently announced that it would supply automaker Chery, with sodium-ion batteries for its EVs. Other battery companies like SVOLT and French-based startup, Tiamat, are pursuing similar technology. CNBC spoke to two such companies, California-based Natron Energy and UK-based Faradion, about their plans to commercialize sodium-ion batteries and the technology’s place in the evolving battery market.

Chapters:
00:00 — Introduction
02:26 — Sodium-ion battery basics
05:59 — Faradion
08:35 — Natron Energy
11:35 — What’s next?

Produced and Edited by: Magdalena Petrova
Animation: Alex Wood, Jason Reginato
Camera: Andrew Evers
Supervising Producer: Jeniece Pettitt
Additional Footage: Faradion - Vineet Johri, Getty Image

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How Sodium-Ion Batteries May Challenge Lithium

[lvc]

If the price is right sodium would be a great solution for home battery storage where weight is less of an issue.

[JT_]

It isn't a shortage of lithium itself that's an issue, but the refining of it.
Sodium is definitely worth pursuing. Sodium ion will be better for some use cases. Lithium ion better for others. Using both, where appropriate, spreads out needs & resources. A win.

[rashakikizer]

Loving these videos. Keep them coming. I'm finding the information more important than everything else I've been watching on YouTube.

[egaskrad]

Li+ and Na+ ran head to head some years ago. Li+ won because it has a core advantage, energy density. Now, as Li gets more and more expensive, they brought Na back into the game, to hopefully control the price of Li.

[rcinfla]

One of several challenges on sodium-ion batteries is the wide cell voltage range over state of charge. Over the discharge range, a sodium cell voltage starts at about 3.9v and at complete discharge is about 1.5v. This creates a challenge for producing efficient loading on battery.

You can make a motor or an electronic power supply that will work over this wider voltage range but you cannot get away from the volt x amp = power relationship. This means the required current flow doubles in the lower half of sodium-ion battery discharge cycle. This in turn requires stronger load components, thicker wire and larger magnetic cores in motors and lower resistance switching devices and stronger power transformers in power supplies. This increases cost of the system over lithium-ion based systems.

If you don't address the increased system peak load current and just replace the battery you take a big hit in overall system energy efficiency, or the equipment will only be usable over about 60-65% of the available total sodium-ion battery capacity.

Just comparing cost of battery cells does not tell the whole story.

[matthewhuszarik]

Potential fo Na-Ion batteries is much greater than $33 billion. For fixed storage they will quickly replace all versions of Li-Ion.

[fdk]

Excellent, by using sodium batteries in for example stationary application where you don't need low weight or small size but you do want high storage capacity sodium can be a great replacement for lithium which saves lithium and associated materials for the other cases where you do need low weight and/or small size

[ToneyCrimson]

I think Sodium ion batteries could be huge for green energy sector since storing the energy when sun dosnt shine and wind doesnt blow has been a huge issue.

[MikMoen]

A Sodium battery that doesn't combust or explode when exposed would be a MONUMENTAL advancement, even if they lost some range over Lithium. I'd fully support it.

[daveshiroma]

It’s so great to see this come to fruition! I was writing about it in college a decade ago and everyone called it impossible/impractical

[jeffs]

Definitely right now, sodium has a best use case in phevs and smaller short range city EVs. Use them for all those vehicles to free up resources of Lithium for the other EVs.

[aidanchan]

Finally there's some actual focus on Sodium-ion batteries; took long enough!

[trwent]

It seems to me that sodium-ion batteries would be excellent for energy grid storage because their weight and bulk are really not an issue like they are with EVs. Plus, the batteries have longer life than lithium-ion, so they would need to be replaced less frequently, which would further cut costs. Plus, they do not have near the problems in cold weather that lithium-ion batteries do.

I think that ultimately, they will be good in EVs, too, but by that time, we may have found something even better.

[brothermine]

Since you need to keep lithium battery charge level within a narrow range -- like above 40% and below 80% -- to keep the battery from wearing out prematurely, its *effective* energy density is much lower than its advertised energy density. This means sodium batteries are competitive even on the feature that has made lithium batteries so desirable.

[frankcoffey]

We need all the different batteries to keep the price of minerals down. We can't have just one. I think we are going to see at least 3 new batteries per year for the next decade. Everyone working on battery technology is on notice, you don't have "years" to get into production anymore. By then there will be something better on the market.

[ronkirk]

Battery technology is still in a state of flux so battery chemistry is likely to change and hopefully it will be in the direction of less environmental damaging materials to produce and more abundant, less costly alternatives. Iron-air batteries may become the best least expensive chemistry for grid scale energy storage to supplement solar and wind green energy.

[svOcelot]

Excellent documentary. Thank you. I've been using LiFePO4 batteries for several years. If Na batteries can be competitive, I'm very interested. But I was disappointed that you didn't touch on charging speed. One of the joys of LiFePO4 is that it can take about as much current as you can throw at it (for my marine interests). Li-Ion are a bit better, but also not as safe. But I don't know where Sodium fits into that.

[waywardgeologist]

CATL is way ahead. Too bad you couldn’t have interviewed them!

[mr_q_]

Everybody talks about batteries for electric cars. In the grand scheme of things, that's a pretty minor use case for batteries. Grid power storage is WAY bigger and more important. And in that case, the power to weight ratio is irrelevant because the batteries don't move.

[philborer]

Lithium ion batteries are still only just beginning to scale compared to what the world will be using. So if sodium batteries are now starting to scale, the competition will be wonderfully intense. I can't wait to see it.