[T]hese Vespa-like scooters, which sell for between £300 and £500 ($400 and $660), are not powered by the mainstream lead-acid or lithium-ion cells, commonly used in electric two-wheelers. Instead, their batteries are made from sodium, an abundant element that can be extracted from sea salt.
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China's grid operators have also started to build energy storage stations using sodium-ion batteries to help the grid absorb renewables. This is an area considered by many researchers spoken to by the BBC as the main playground for the emerging technology.
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For two-wheelers, sodium-ion batteries' main rivals are lead-acid ones, whose energy density and rechargeable cycles are even lower. Their only advantage is that they are cheaper than both sodium and lithium-ion batteries currently, Xi says.
The sheer number of two-wheelers in Asia paves a promising pathway to achieving economies of scale. In China alone, around 55 million electric two-wheelers were sold in 2023 – nearly six times the number of all pure, hybrid and fuel-cell electric cars combined sold in the country that year – according to Shanghai-based consultancy iResearch.
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For many, though, there are other good reasons to take up sodium-ion batteries. One is safety.
In 2024, China was shocked by a wave of battery fires, mostly triggered by the self-combustion of lithium-ion batteries in two-wheelers. Globally, fire risks at energy storage stations have become a concern. In a recent example, a blaze broke out at one such facility inside a major battery plant in California in January 2025.
Some industry insiders believe that sodium-ion batteries are safer. They are less prone to overheating and burning compared to lithium-ion ones because sodium's chemical traits are more stable, according to some studies. But others warn that it is still too early to be certain about their safety due to a lack of relevant research.
Cold weather also makes a difference. The energy a lithium-ion battery can store and the times it can be recharged drop at sub-zero temperatures. Sodium-ion batteries are less affected by harsh conditions.
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Although lead-acid batteries will continue to dominate this industry, the market share of sodium-ion batteries has been projected to grow rapidly over the next five years. By 2030, 15% of China's electric scooters will be powered by them, compared to 0.04% in 2023, according to an analysis by the Shenzhen-based Starting Point Research Institute, which assesses China's battery industry.
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But for sodium-ion batteries to succeed in mass production the main question is whether companies can make them cheaper than lithium-ion cells, according to Zheng Jiayue, a consultant with research and consulting firm Wood Mackenzie who specialises in the energy storage supply chain.
Currently, the unit price of sodium-ion batteries for energy storage is about 60% higher than that of lithium-ion ones, but the gap is projected to narrow, China Central Television reported, citing analysis by the China Energy Storage Alliance, a Beijing-based non-profit.
It's also an annoying byproduct of desalination plants that are becoming increasingly necessary around the world. We will probably never run out of cheap, available salt.
It's also an annoying byproduct of desalination plants that are becoming increasingly necessary around the world. We will probably never run out of cheap, available salt.
If anything, it feels like this would combine well with desalination plants that have difficulty getting rid of concentrated brine due to environmental concerns. If done in an environmentally...
If anything, it feels like this would combine well with desalination plants that have difficulty getting rid of concentrated brine due to environmental concerns. If done in an environmentally conscious way, enough salt can be extracted in the process so that the salt inputs and outputs are the same.
Salt is utterly trivial to mine (salt flats, and mountains full of salt) and also a waste product from the increasingly popular desalination process that props up half of the middle east.
Salt is utterly trivial to mine (salt flats, and mountains full of salt) and also a waste product from the increasingly popular desalination process that props up half of the middle east.
Battery swapping is more of a thing in China, where having an electric car battery lease means you're not worried about getting your battery back, you can just drive in, have them swap the power...
Battery swapping is more of a thing in China, where having an electric car battery lease means you're not worried about getting your battery back, you can just drive in, have them swap the power pack, and you drive out with a new battery.
Battery swapping for mopeds, scooters, and rickshaws is extremely popular in India. I think friendly regulations, denser cities, and reasonable prices really help....
Don't know if there some element of the culture and "philosophy" of new cars. Whenever I travel to developing countries in Asia and Africa, there are Spare Parts traders and repair shops on every...
Don't know if there some element of the culture and "philosophy" of new cars. Whenever I travel to developing countries in Asia and Africa, there are Spare Parts traders and repair shops on every other corner in urban areas. Thats because getting a new car is a major luxury and a lot people are driving decades old machines. Repair and part replacement are important factors.
But bying a new car seems to be all about selling you the next car in 3-5 years. High value service/warranty plans and insurance policies are there but you are locked down to accredited mechanics and official parts. Once the plans run their course, any sort of third part repair will kill resale value. So it becomes very tempting to just replace the entire car before anything goes wrong.
Batteries in an EV are far more valuable than regular cars. It's sort of like why battery replacements in phones are so difficult. They can be tuned to fail gracefully on a predictable schedule. If you can replace that without issue, it takes away a lot of reason to fully replace the entire car.
From the article:
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How abundant is salt, really? If this does take off might we see a huge price increase? Enough taken out of the ocean to cause real problems?
Sodium is the 6th most common element on Earth.
It's also an annoying byproduct of desalination plants that are becoming increasingly necessary around the world. We will probably never run out of cheap, available salt.
If anything, it feels like this would combine well with desalination plants that have difficulty getting rid of concentrated brine due to environmental concerns. If done in an environmentally conscious way, enough salt can be extracted in the process so that the salt inputs and outputs are the same.
Salt goes for about $100 per ton so I'd say it's pretty common.
The batteries don't use as much salt as you might think. They're very efficient in terms of energy stored per materials used.
Salt is utterly trivial to mine (salt flats, and mountains full of salt) and also a waste product from the increasingly popular desalination process that props up half of the middle east.
Ooh, that's interesting. Battery swapping stations have been proposed and binned for years, decades even. I wonder why it worked this time?
Battery swapping is more of a thing in China, where having an electric car battery lease means you're not worried about getting your battery back, you can just drive in, have them swap the power pack, and you drive out with a new battery.
Battery swapping for mopeds, scooters, and rickshaws is extremely popular in India. I think friendly regulations, denser cities, and reasonable prices really help.
https://www.economictimes.com/industry/renewables/indias-battery-swapping-boom-hinges-on-deliveries-and-rickshaws/articleshow/120502303.cms
Don't know if there some element of the culture and "philosophy" of new cars. Whenever I travel to developing countries in Asia and Africa, there are Spare Parts traders and repair shops on every other corner in urban areas. Thats because getting a new car is a major luxury and a lot people are driving decades old machines. Repair and part replacement are important factors.
But bying a new car seems to be all about selling you the next car in 3-5 years. High value service/warranty plans and insurance policies are there but you are locked down to accredited mechanics and official parts. Once the plans run their course, any sort of third part repair will kill resale value. So it becomes very tempting to just replace the entire car before anything goes wrong.
Batteries in an EV are far more valuable than regular cars. It's sort of like why battery replacements in phones are so difficult. They can be tuned to fail gracefully on a predictable schedule. If you can replace that without issue, it takes away a lot of reason to fully replace the entire car.
https://electrek.co/2023/05/24/gogoro-expands-retail-sales-battery-swapping-electric-scooters-korea/