There are already cars with sodium-ion batteries on the road. They are much more stable and 30–40% cheaper than LFP (lithium iron phosphate) batteries. Analysts at Morgan Stanley expect sodium-ion batteries to reach a 2% market share of total battery deployment by 2027, accelerating to 20% by 2030 and 37% by 2035.
Morgan Stanley analysis
MS explains that “In a world increasingly driven by AI and highly energy-intensive … sodium-ion batteries address a critical bottleneck … where energy security intersects with AI.” MSR’s China energy and chemicals analysts believe that this new generation of batteries could redefine energy security and disrupt both new deployments and the installed base. Sodium-ion batteries offer a 30–40 per cent cost advantage over LFP (lithium iron phosphate) batteries … and also deliver better performance in cold climates. They expect sodium-ion batteries to reach a 2 per cent market share of total battery deployment by 2027, accelerating to 20 per cent by 2030 and 37 per cent by 2035.”
Sodium-ion (Na-ion) batteries are one of the most promising technologies in the field of energy storage. They are emerging as the main alternative to the ubiquitous lithium-ion batteries, particularly for affordable electric cars and energy storage within the electricity grid.
Advantages
- Abundance and low cost: Sodium is one of the most abundant elements on Earth (it is found in common salt). Lithium, by contrast, is scarce, expensive and its extraction is concentrated in just a few countries. Sodium batteries can be between 20% and 30% cheaper to manufacture.
- Safety: They are much more thermally stable than lithium batteries, meaning the risk of them overheating or catching fire is drastically lower. They can even be transported in a fully discharged state (0 volts) in complete safety.
- Performance in cold climates: Whilst lithium batteries lose a great deal of efficiency as the temperature drops, sodium-ion batteries maintain excellent performance even at -20 °C.
- Fast charging: Their cellular structure allows ions to move quickly, enabling charges of up to 80% in around 15 minutes.
Disadvantages
- Lower energy density: This is their Achilles’ heel. Sodium atoms are larger and heavier than lithium atoms. This means that, for the same size and weight, a sodium battery stores less energy (currently between 140–160 Wh/kg compared to over 250 Wh/kg for lithium).
- Greater weight and volume: To offer the same range as a long-range lithium-ion electric car, the sodium battery would have to be enormous and very heavy.
- Shorter cycle life (under development): Although this is improving rapidly, they generally withstand fewer charge and discharge cycles before beginning to degrade compared to the best lithium-ion batteries.
Main current and future applications
Due to their weight, don’t expect to see them in your mobile phone or laptop any time soon, but they are suitable for:
- Grid storage: Storing energy from wind farms or solar parks for use when there is no wind or sun. Here, space and weight are not an issue, but low cost and safety are.
- Urban electric vehicles: Small cars and motorbikes that do not require huge ranges (for example, daily journeys of 200–300 km) but do need an affordable price tag.
- Micromobility: Electric scooters and bicycles.Major battery manufacturers (such as China’s CATL or BYD) have already begun mass production of these cells, and the first compact cars fitted with sodium batteries are already on the roads.
