this post was submitted on 11 Mar 2025
29 points (89.2% liked)
Technology
66137 readers
9043 users here now
This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
Our Rules
- Follow the lemmy.world rules.
- Only tech related content.
- Be excellent to each other!
- Mod approved content bots can post up to 10 articles per day.
- Threads asking for personal tech support may be deleted.
- Politics threads may be removed.
- No memes allowed as posts, OK to post as comments.
- Only approved bots from the list below, this includes using AI responses and summaries. To ask if your bot can be added please contact a mod.
- Check for duplicates before posting, duplicates may be removed
- Accounts 7 days and younger will have their posts automatically removed.
Approved Bots
founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
One mention I didn't see was any reference to Sodium Ion batteries. While these aren't great for EV cars (even though you can buy at least one Chinese EV with one right now), as they are physically larger and less energy dense than any Lithium chemistries. However, they have the potential to be REALLY CHEAP because they use zero of the limited supply of Lithium and instead use the very abundant Sodium...as in table salt Sodium (NaCl).
If they are developed and end up being as cheap as though possible, the positive implications for grid storage are huge! You've heard of all that extra wasted solar power in places like California, Texas, and even western China? A very small amount of that energy is already being captured and used on the grid with today's expensive Lithium batteries and its a game changer. Sodium batteries (if they deliver as hoped) could be an order of magnitude higher in value because of how cheap they could be were we don't really care they are larger and heavier.
I don't see why they don't make sense for cars. Put them in commuters where distance is less important than economy. I don't see why they couldn't make a ton of sense as a second car.
Buses that could run self powered on side streets, yet charge using overhead power lines installed over main roads.
Would pretty much combine the energy savings of electric rail with last-mile service via bus routes.