Technology @lemmy.world mox @lemmy.sdf.org 6mo ago

Lithium-free sodium batteries exit the lab and enter US production

newatlas.com Lithium-free sodium batteries exit the lab and enter US production

Two years ago, sodium-ion battery pioneer Natron Energy was busy preparing its specially formulated sodium batteries for mass production. The company slipped a little past its 2023 kickoff plans, but it didn't fall too far behind as far as mass battery production goes. It officially commenced…

152

152 comments

50,000 cycles

Wow, a lifetime of 137 years at one cycle per day. This could make off-grid systems mainstream.
Lower power density, higher cycle life, safer. Sounds good for stationary power storage.
non-flammable end use

Safe and stable chemistry

Oh neat, finally a non-explody and/or unstable battery lmao
As usual there is absolutely no mention whatsoever anywhere in any of the articles I can find or from the company themselves about what the fucking price is
The mere fact that we can stop scorching the earth for lithium and cobalt is enough.
Sodium batteries are already in electric cars many months ago

https://www.engadget.com/the-first-ev-with-a-lithium-free-sodium-battery-hits-the-road-in-january-214828536.html

Also you could buy individual cells on AliExpress

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6zcI1GrkK4
Nuclear bros hate this one simple trick.
Sodium? Like, salt sodium?
Good video going over practical pros and cons currently:

https://piped.video/watch?v=s6zcI1GrkK4
I couldn't find much in the chemistry but this seems exciting.
That is some great news
I didn't see anything about round trip efficiency. I've heard that's a big downside so it might make energy storage a hard sell.
Only thing I've seen that has worried me about them is how they seem to have turned a fire hazard into an explosive hazard in terms of battery safety.
Finally, some good fuckin' news. Curious to see if Fairphone will be the first to attempt adopting this.

152 comments