A sodium-ion battery made by Chinese firm Hina has been found to be broadly comparable to lithium-ion batteries used by Tesla in its electric vehicles (EV).
Long-term forecasts suggest that lithium demand will continue to outstrip supply globally for the foreseeable future as it underpins many of the technologies needed for decarbonisation including EVs and renewable technology.
Since sodium is much more abundant and widely available than lithium, using it for batteries could cut raw material costs for manufacturers and reduce long-term supply chain risks. Sodium-ion batteries also perform well under load at low temperatures, making them an appealing option for both stationary power storage and mobile applications in cold climates.
Moritz Schütte, a researcher at RWTH Aachen University in Germany, has been assessing batteries made by Hina and found that once they have been tweaked to charge more effectively at low temperatures and function better at high-energy densities, they could provide...