Sodium ion is generally much more stable.

"They said I wouldn't believe it."

Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFe-PO) are actually really stable. Way less likely to catch fire in thermal runaway and don't lose capacity as easily.

They just aren't very energy dense, so you need more weight per wh. They also operate at a lower voltage per cell which means they charge slower.

They are used in short to med range EVs already, but the lower capacity makes it impractical to put enough for longer range EVs.

As an aside, I would argue that for the majority of people a large capacity EV battery is a bit of a waste. Mine is ~70Kwh, give or take. In optimal conditions my car estimates 240-250mi at 100%. Over the winter it's showing anywhere from 140-180mi at 80%.

I moved cross country right after getting it and drove it 1000 miles. It took a bit longer, than it would in a gas car, but it was doable. Just have to plan segments to get to the next charger and try to charge to 100% with level 2 charging (240v AC) if you can when you stop for the night.

Sodium Ion is a real game changer. But I doubt it will compete with Lithium Ion on energy density anytime soon.

But that's not necessary to make major changes in the power grid. Solar and wind is already cheapest form of energy generation even considering the expense of Lithium to store the energy when renewables aren't generating. If you're just installing stationary battery banks, you don't care that much about the energy density as you would for a battery in a car or phone. Set up banks of cheap sodium ion batteries strategically and not only do you have plenty of power stored for when it's not sunny or windy, you may avoid widespread power outages when power lines are downed.

Sure and I guess you could charge it by using a PC's cooling fan in reverse and blowing on it too.

I sure hope so, sounds amazing if so!

Yeah, the advantages of all these sodium batteries, in my mind, is that they are stable and rugged enough to build up a backbone of a energy storage system for a grid.
I'm seriously thinking about them for my house, in the UK.

Who else is going to feed the eels?

Yes, I am very intrigued. For something the size of half a shipping container I could power my house for almost a month. This is of course fantasy because I don't have $20,000 to throw down. But combine it with solar cells that have gotten really cheap and you could indefinitely power your house for next to nothing.

New tit ion battery generates fifteen times the power and shits butter pecan ice cream. And, like every other battery chemistry there's ever been a news article for, isn't real and will never enter production.

Desalination sodium is free if you want the water

Water supply where? In Saudi Arabia it could be revolutionary tech when combined with solar

Not, for example, if it's only producing 1l/day.

🤨
Is this a reference to what I think it's a reference to?

If they have a bit lower energy density than Lithium batteries, then where does the claim that they store twice the energy come from?

But can you drink them after they were charged?

And how does that affect the taste?

My dream is to taste lightning.

Sounds like it came from that article about the new kind of sodium batteries with vanadium that are doing that desalination business. I was describing the general technology rather than that specific new one in the article.

Bullshit headline. It neither desalinates water nor it's better than Li-ion, because you know physics is pretty hard to cheat

you use grid power, not a miracle

When the author gives the reader too much credit lol

Twice the energy than the previous sodium battery tech. Nowhere does it say its twice as good as Li-ion. That's an assumption you made.

Also not nearly as much of a fire hazard.

Patrick who?

Like what?

Wasn't LFP commercialized at EV scale like a decade ago? It went from like 0% market share to majority market share in about a decade.

I see that sentiment on every battery news, but it sure seems to me like battery tech is advancing quite drastically. Are there over-hyped headlines and articles pumping up tech that isn't anywhere near completion? Sure, but meanwhile EVs have become a thing, house batteries, etc.

My dream is to taste lightning.

Should have checked out Benjamin Franklin's dinner parties when you had a chance.

Sodium ion has the same "energy density", but lower density because of its honeycomb structure.

This story is actually about a sodium-vanadium wet battery, not sodium ion. NaVn batteries are a wet flow battery that have been around for a while, they are intended for stationary power use.

But you can't imagine it doing a lot more?

Countries like Saudi Arabia and UAE depend on it

That face is glorious. My mood has skyrocketed.

I don't think batteries will soak up that much salt for their use. And I'd imagine they saturate over time. It's very different than something built specifically for deslination.

Each battery won't, but a factory making lots of batteries...

Maybe. If it was a compelling case I'd think they'd show us the data.