Na-Ion can be a lot less expensive. But it’s a lot heavier. (Not a problem for grid-storage.)
As a flashlight enthusiast, I’d be very interested to see if sodium batteries are any better.
Was just reading through the articles I could find about it and it seems you can’t make cylindrical batteries with it. Which sucks for existing flashlights. I’m sure if the tech ever picks up some other shape of flashlight could be made.
They also seem to have less capacity overall.
Just make a flat battery and roll it up. 🧌
Material scientists hate this one trick.
There are cylindrical cells available. The capacity is pretty low, 18650 cells are around 1.5AH and 26700 cells are around 3.5AH. They discharge down to 1.5V, so you will get less capacity if you use them in something designed for lithium cells.
Well I’m all about developing new technology and allowing the very best to sell the most.
Maybe someday in the future there will be an alternative to lithium batteries that really is better. But as you said, Sodium batteries aren’t as good.
They are actually better than Lithium in several ways. Sodium batteries have most of the capacity of Lithium batteries by weight, around 80% if I recall. But what they have to offer is being completely non-flammable, tolerant to wider temperature ranges, and they are made of materials that are cheap and abundant almost everywhere. It’s much better than having to source Lithium and Cobalt.
We could put Sodium batteries everywhere to power the grid since they are super safe, should be fine outdoors even.
Ok, so that sounds good for grid size battery packs and backyard generator replacements as well as indoor wall packs.
And like 80% of car trips.
Yes! It would be great for a cheap daily commuter.
At the moment they aren’t up to par with lithium. The tech is still developing though. So maybe one day they will catch up.
All depend on which point you compare. Because for charging, sodium win over lithium.
Can we eat them?
Battery-licking good!
At least once, yes
BYD is supposedly bringing them to production.
https://cleantechnica.com/2023/04/22/the-sodium-ion-battery-is-coming-to-production-cars-this-year/
They are already in production, and sold to consumer, since few days. A french start up is selling an electric screwdriver with a sodium battery.
So the answer to the question about what to do with the excess salt from desalination plants, is make batteries?
Have they eliminated the need for sodium to be molten in sodium batteries? If so, that’s great news!
deleted by creator
Most likely because the news is in English. And why would Natrium be better on an international forum?
It is Sodium in most Latin languages (despite Natrium being Latin), in Hindi and in Arabic. And Chinese has a different root. Among the 10 most spoken languages (according to Wikipedia), only Russian is using Natrium.
deleted by creator
As a native English speaker, I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone call NaCl just “Sodium”, it’s always called “Sodium Chloride”.
deleted by creator
That’s interesting, it looks like I may have a bias on that due to my scientific background.
I’m a PhD candidate in chemistry. I’ve never once seen sodium refer to the salt, sodium chloride. Sodium is the metallic form or the atom.
However, why sodium, tungsten, lead, antimony, tin, silver, gold, mercury, iron, and potassium and not their Latin forms? Natrium, wolfram, plumbum, stibium, stannum, argentum, aurum, hydrargyrum, Ferrum and kalium? I don’t really know. Mostly it’s just fun trivia for me to tell the undergrads.
I always said salt, of sodium chloride for NaCl. Who is using sodium for table salt? The only time I heard that associated was when saying that table salt is a source of sodium, which is true.
Because we’re speaking English, not Latin?
Quare loquimur anglicus?
Romani ite domum!
What’s that supossed to say?
Well it would have said “Romani ite domum” if I didn’t typo that.
At least I didn’t write it as “Romanes eunt domus” like some weirdo.
(It’s a Monty Python reference)
Toccare!
I’ve never heard natrium before. I guess I could learn. We could also call pineapples ananas.
Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
https://piped.video/ZRRL_bi_62A
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I’m open-source; check me out at GitHub.
