Sodium-Ion Batteries
Sodium-ion batteries have emerged in recent years as a promising technology in battery research, with the potential to one day replace lithium-ion batteries. Sodium is about 440 times more abundant in the Earth’s crust than lithium and is also found in significant quantities in seawater in ionic form [4]. It is widely available across the globe, eliminating the risk of geopolitical dependencies. Depending on the specific cell chemistry, it’s even possible to completely avoid using toxic metals like cobalt [5]. Thanks to the electrolytes used, sodium-ion batteries also operate within an extremely wide temperature range of -40 °C to +60 °C, making them suitable for cold climates where lithium-ion batteries often struggle. In terms of price, they are currently on par with lithium-ion batteries, but due to the ready availability of materials, a future cost advantage of 30 to 40 percent is expected [6]. The only drawback at present is the energy density, which is still somewhat lower than lithium-based technologies at around 160 Wh/kg.
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