I’ve been hearing about these for a few years now. Huge if they work out at a large scale.

  • nyan@lemmy.cafe
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    2 days ago

    The “1000W/kg” figure appears to be from Wikipedia, which claims https://www.idtechex.com/en/research-article/sodium-ion-batteries-will-diversify-the-energy-storage-industry/30405 as a source. Wikipedia has the information in a table flagged as “Needs update”.

    Anyway, most of the lithium-ion chemistry variations drop off relatively fast in capacity over repeated charge cycles (the exception being LiFePo4). If the sodium-ion chemistry is better that way, and drops off less in the cold, it’s still worth exploring for vehicle use even if the energy density is a little lower.

    • SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca
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      1 day ago

      In colder climates, the lower density could be offset by better performance in cold. This is why sodium has made it to large mining trucks.

    • lime!@feddit.nu
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      1 day ago

      from other comments it seems the energy density of batteries currently on the market is about 2/3rds that of lithium cells.

      there’s also the asymmetry to worry about: with a max discharge rate of 8C but a charge rate of 3C there could potentially be limits on regen braking. if i’m understanding it correctly, sodium cells degrade quickly at higher charge rates.

      • AlteredEgo@lemmy.ml
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        22 hours ago

        Interesting, but from what I understand limited charging would only be a problem if you do not have large enough battery capacity. So for heavier vehicles with larger capacity this might not matter much.

        PS: This video about the CATL NaFePO4 battery also mentions a “half sodium half lithium” battery pack for cars to combine the best of both.