this post was submitted on 09 Aug 2026
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509
New sodium-ion battery skips mechanical cooling with 97.9% efficiency (interestingengineering.com)
submitted 2 weeks ago by Return_of_Chippy@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world
82 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

I've been hearing about these for a few years now. Huge if they work out at a large scale.

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[–] nyan@lemmy.cafe 13 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

The "1000W/kg" figure appears to be from Wikipedia, which claims https://www.idtechex.com/en/research-article/sodium-ion-batteries-will-diversify-the-energy-storage-industry/30405 as a source. Wikipedia has the information in a table flagged as "Needs update".

Anyway, most of the lithium-ion chemistry variations drop off relatively fast in capacity over repeated charge cycles (the exception being LiFePo4). If the sodium-ion chemistry is better that way, and drops off less in the cold, it's still worth exploring for vehicle use even if the energy density is a little lower.

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 5 points 1 week ago

In colder climates, the lower density could be offset by better performance in cold. This is why sodium has made it to large mining trucks.

[–] lime@feddit.nu 4 points 1 week ago (1 children)

from other comments it seems the energy density of batteries currently on the market is about 2/3rds that of lithium cells.

there's also the asymmetry to worry about: with a max discharge rate of 8C but a charge rate of 3C there could potentially be limits on regen braking. if i'm understanding it correctly, sodium cells degrade quickly at higher charge rates.

[–] Valmond@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Just put condensers/a small lithium break battery in.

[–] lime@feddit.nu 3 points 1 week ago

i think bmw was working on something like that.