Will sodium end lithium’s reign, after battery manufacturer CATL’s dramatic move of entering sodium-ion mass production? We don’t expect it will do so, although, for CATL at least, there is no longer a single obsession with the highest possible density.
Lithium-poor nations will also welcome this trend, for some have been deeply concerned about their access to the lithium supply chain. That monopoly seems to be crumbling too, as we enter a new battery era, and the threshold of a new battery chemistry.
Sodium Does Not Mean the End of Lithium
But the obsession with lithium’s high density is by no means over. CATL has given no indication of abandoning that lucrative production line. Lithium empowers electric vehicles, and portable electronic equipment, with energy density that sodium does not even begin to meet.
Sodium will therefore not end lithium’s reign. It is not even a pretender to that ‘throne’. But certainly we are seeing a structural shift in the overall battery material supply chain.
The Lithium Supply Chain Monopoly is Crumbling
Lithium is not all that rare in its natural form in Earth’s crust. Although its presence is geographically selective, due to geological phenomena that helped shape it. This has given Australia, Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile a strategic advantage.
While North America and Europe slept, China began mining 17% of the world’s accessible lithium within its borders. But it has come to dominate midstream lithium globally, by refining lithium from other sources too.
Sodium, by comparison, is almost universally available, and cheaper to produce. Indeed, it comprises 2.3% of Earth’s entire crust. Sodium may not end lithium’s reign, but it is breaking a virtual monopoly, and that is good news for consumers.
How Will Sodium Capitalize On This Advantage?
Sodium will most likely build on lithium’s weaknesses.These include supply chain uncertainties, and the instability of the metal in batteries. CATL intends using sodium for energy storage and some electric vehicles. We shall wait to see if it’s competition follows.
More Information
CATL Sodium-Ion Battery Trials
CATL Is Delivering Sodium-Ion Soon
