Sodium-Ion Batteries Could Potentially Address the EV Industry’s Supply Challenges
Accelerating electric vehicle adoption and growing energy storage needs are exposing vulnerabilities in battery supply chains and increasing interest in alternatives to lithium-ion technology. While geological reserves of lithium, nickel, and cobalt exist, expanding mining and processing operations fast enough to meet surging demand presents a major long-term challenge. Sodium-ion batteries, which use one of Earth's most plentiful elements, offer a potential complement to dominant lithium chemistries, particularly where cost, safety, and material availability are just as important as energy density. Performance gaps that long limited sodium-ion commercial viability are now narrowing substantially. Chinese manufacturer CATL introduced its first sodium-ion battery in 2021 with roughly 160 watt-hours per kilogram energy density.…