A report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) notes that while it is still uncertain whether sodium-ion batteries (SIB) will become a disruptive alternative to lithium-ion (LIB) technology, they could offer significant cost-saving opportunities in applications such as electric vehicles and large-scale energy storage.
SIBs hold a potential advantage over LIBs due to the abundance and accessibility of sodium, a material that is considerably cheaper than lithium. IRENA says the price of sodium carbonate between 2020 and 2024 ranged between $100/ton and $500/ton, while the price of lithium carbonate over the same period of time ranged between $6,000/ton and $83,000/ton.
Source: PV Magazine: Read The Article
PSR Analysis: Not only is Sodium 1,000 times more abundant than Lithium and it’s readily accessible, SIBs also offer promising safety features, good performance across a range of temperatures and competitive lifespans. So, while there is phenomenal potential, we are at early stages and only time (and investment) will tell if we reach this lower cost. PSR
Guy Youngs is Forecast & Adoption Lead at Power Systems Research
