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What role will sodium play in the world's transition to electric cars?

As the demand for electric vehicles continues to rise to a new height, the demand for batteries with reasonable prices and high efficiency is also growing. However, due to the shortage of battery supply and the fact that lithium is already a limited resource, the sustainable use of lithium-ion batteries is actually questionable.

While lithium-ion battery technology has made great strides over the past decade, there is growing concern that innovation around these batteries is starting to slow. For example, although the price of lithium-ion batteries has fallen by about 73% over the past decade, it has fallen by only about 28% from 2017 to 2021. Perhaps more worrying, however, the price of lithium has almost quadrupled since 2021!

Needless to say, if there is no major breakthrough in lithium-ion technology, we will inevitably need an alternative material to drive the world's transition to electric vehicles. Fortunately for us, sodium seems to be a viable candidate. It is rich in content, cheap, more environmentally friendly, and has similar chemical properties to lithium.

But while this sounds good, is sodium really suitable for batteries? If so, why hasn't anyone started mass production yet?

The convincing prospect of sodium battery

In short, some researchers believe that sodium will eventually replace the use of lithium in batteries. This is because, as mentioned earlier, the chemical composition of sodium is roughly similar to that of lithium. Therefore, the technology used by the two batteries is actually the same.

In lithium-ion batteries, lithium is located in the cathode and electrolyte of the battery, while the anode is composed of graphite. Similarly, sodium ion batteries use sodium in both cathodes and electrolytes and replace the graphite in the anode with some form of "hard carbon".

Hard carbon, essentially charcoal, is also more beneficial than graphite because of its light and hard properties. Hard carbon is also compatible with a wider range of electrolytes, making it possible for sodium ion batteries to have a wider range of safe operating temperatures.

Due to the minimum difference between the two, there is already a functional sodium ion prototype. For example, CATL, one of the world's largest battery manufacturers, introduced a concept last year that has an energy density of 160watt-hours per kilogram and can be recharged from 0 to 80 per cent in 15 minutes.

Although the charging speed is impressive, the energy density reveals one of sodium's weaknesses. One of the reasons sodium is largely ignored as a lithium substitute is that it is slightly heavier. Due to the increase in the weight of sodium, the energy density of sodium-ion batteries is usually lower than that of lithium-ion batteries. In this case, the density of CATL's sodium ion prototype is 160Wh / kg, while the density of Tesla's upcoming 4680 lithium battery is estimated to be 272,296Wh / kg.

But before it gets discouraging, it's worth mentioning that Faradion, a UK-based battery company, estimates it will be able to get its first full-size sodium battery of more than 200wh / kg. Of course, it's not quite the same as Tesla's battery, but that would put it on a par with most of the batteries produced by other electric vehicles, which usually hovers around 185wh / kg.

As a result, in addition to being cheaper, easier to produce, more environmentally friendly and more stable at extreme temperatures, these batteries are likely to rival the energy density of lithium-ion batteries, despite the poor weight of sodium.

How does Sodium Ion Technology change the face of Electric vehicles

As for how sodium really affects the electric car market, the most revolutionary is its sustainability. From a cost point of view, Faraday estimates that sodium-ion batteries are likely to cost 24-32% less than lithium-ion batteries. Given that lithium itself usually accounts for 30-40% of the total cost of batteries, this is not hard to believe.

If a typical $50,000 electric car were replaced with a sodium battery, the price would fall by at least $4800, or 9.6 per cent. While a 10 per cent price cut will not lead to electric cars worth less than $25000 overnight, it is definitely a step in the right direction.

Another measure of sustainability is the ultimate durability of these batteries. Historically, sodium ion batteries have been criticized for their poor durability, usually because the ions of these batteries are easy to damage their internal crystal structure. However, thanks to the breakthrough of the U.S. Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), this damage is now avoidable.

The concept of PNNL overcomes the durability of sodium ions by adjusting the chemical reactions that form the electrolytes of the battery. As a result of this change, the PNNL battery retains more than 90% of its capacity and more than 300 charging cycles. Yes, this is a vague range of values, but depending on how much range the battery provides, you can expect 10% degradation over the course of 75000-90000 miles. Although this is obviously worse than current lithium-ion battery technology, keep in mind that the economic burden of replacing a sodium-ion battery is much smaller than that of replacing a lithium-ion battery.

In terms of recyclability, sodium ion batteries can be completely discharged to 0 volts, which is better than lithium batteries. Lithium-ion batteries, by contrast, typically retain 30 per cent of their power, making them potentially dangerous for recycling. Therefore, not only are sodium ion batteries safer to recycle, but they also lack raw materials such as cobalt or graphite, which makes them less harmful to the environment.

In general, sodium-ion batteries have many advantages over lithium batteries, including cost, environmental impact, availability and safety, but they still face the problems of durability and energy density. In other words, the technology will take several years to develop before it is ready to be used in electric cars.

In other words, some of these shortcomings may be less prominent at the time of listing. Until then, however, it will be interesting to see how this promising technology develops and what role it plays in the world's transition to electric cars.

Extended reading

New energy vehicles and power batteries have formed a deep binding relationship in the industrial chain. Power batteries, as the "heart" of new energy vehicles, determine many key vehicle performance parameters.

On the whole, the power battery develops along the two technical routes of high specific energy and high safety, with the continuous iteration of various subdivision technologies, in the future, the power battery of new energy vehicles will fully meet the needs of vehicle owners on mileage, charging time, driving safety and so on. 4680 large cylindrical batteries, solid-state batteries, sodium ion batteries, non-spontaneous combustion batteries and other new technologies are about to be put into application, which is expected to greatly alleviate the pain point for new energy vehicle owners.

The information provided in this article is for general guidance and information purposes only, and the content of this article should not be regarded as investment, business, legal or tax advice under any circumstances.

This article comes from the official account of Wechat: new Research (ID:chuxinyanjiu), author: Technality, compiled by Liu Tangshi

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