I used to think "new battery technology is great in the lab but usually never gets used," but I recently found an interesting story 💡
The world's largest battery maker, CATL (have you heard of CATL?), has apparently cleared a big barrier in developing sodium-ion batteries ✨ This isn't just a technical story—it's said "it might become one-tenth the price of lithium-ion batteries in the future" 😳
What Are Sodium-Ion Batteries Anyway?
Lithium-ion batteries are used everywhere from smartphones to electric vehicles now. But lithium is quite expensive and a limited resource 🥺
That's where "sodium-ion batteries" get attention 💭
Sodium is a component in salt, much more abundant and cheaper than lithium. So if this becomes practical, battery prices could drop significantly ✨
Why CATL's Challenge Is Interesting
- Current lithium-ion battery costs are about 100-150 dollars/kWh
- CATL is saying sodium-ion batteries might eventually reach 10 dollars/kWh 💡
Isn't that amazing? Even with the technology, it's meaningless if mass production isn't possible, but since CATL is the world's largest battery maker, they have a high possibility of creating "scale advantages."
Plus recently, they've passed new Chinese certifications and confirmed performance that can fast-charge in 15 minutes, so we might actually be able to use these in the near future.
If Costs Really Drop That Much?
Renewable energy like solar and wind is getting cheaper, but the problem is storage. Storing electricity is expensive, so we can't use it well 💭
But if these sodium-ion batteries are cheap and powerful,
- "Microgrids" where individuals store and use electricity might spread more 🍀
- We won't need to depend on big companies or countries, so electricity options and freedom will increase ✨
This seems like it would significantly impact fossil fuels and nuclear power too 😮💨
Every time I hear about recent technological developments, I sometimes look at it sideways thinking "really? Will it just end in the lab again..." but CATL's story feels like something we can actually look forward to 💗
I think I'll pay attention to how energy situations change going forward 🌸
Hatena
