this post was submitted on 09 Apr 2026
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Sodium is absolutely less of a fire risk which is good and is made of less rare earth minerals which is also a bonus.
The major downside is the energy density. If I am not mistaken it is about half of current litium ion batteries. Which would result in a halving of range for the same weight.
On top of that, if they ever get them into production, the solid state Lithium ion batteries are not only more energy dense than current batteries, they are also safer due to the lack of flammable liquid electrolites.
In conclusion with what I know, I doubt most cars will use sodium ion batteries. I would see them as great home batteries for solar installations. And maybe batteries for farm equipement or construction vehicles although the weight might become an issue.
Sodium batteries are only 30% less energy dense, but cost half as much as lithium and work better in lower temperatures. Most cars will use sodium chemistry and the shift is already taking place.
See the "working better in lower temperatures" is what im interested in. I would love an EV if we had the infrastructure to support it, but as they are right now there is little incentive to build the infrastructure because it's often too cold where I live and everything is so far apart.
Your government needs to just build whole country nuclear and stop its other spending, once you've got cheap abundant energy then its inevitable.
Than my information was out of date because the in formation I had sodium was around 140w an lithium around 250w so not half but a large gap. But with the range anxiety most people already have I wonder if 30% less available power will be acceptable for them. And as I said before solid state Lithium should be a massive change and allow electric cars to rival diesel for range.