- cross-posted to:
- technology@lemmy.world
- cross-posted to:
- technology@lemmy.world
" CATL has thrown its hat into the ring with the Naxtra sodium-ion battery, with 175 Wh/kg and 10,000 lifetime cycles along with operation from -40°C to 70°C. CATL is planning a start-stop battery for trucks using the technology. It has the potential to replace lead-acid batteries. CATL has announced battery pricing at the cell level in volume at $19/kWh. "
Here’s the thing: sodium chloride aka table salt is extremely abundant. We are not expected to run out of it in any measurable timeframe, and the effect of sodium mining on the oceans or ecosystems at large is negligible.
Same cannot be said of lithium, which currently forms the backbone of battery tech. It is rare, and its extraction is extremely polluting. In fact, lithium is responsible for a huge chunk of renewable energy’s ecological footprint.
Switching to sodium technology is like switching from silver to sand. It’s just one thing we truly have enough of.
plus one of the main issues with desalination plants for fresh water is… getting rid of the sodium
yeah I don’t really think what I’ve written above is coming. I just expect nothing less from that class than to turn a solution into a new problem. Should have been more explicit about that.