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The Sodium-Ion Battery Revolution Has Started (cleantechnica.com)
submitted 1 year ago by to c/technology@lemmy.world
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cross-posted from: https://lemmy.bestiver.se/post/693048

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[–] 4 points 1 year ago (10 children)

Yeah, I want to buy a car w/ reduced range at substantially lower prices, but I can't do that right now. Give me a sub-$20k option to get to work and back and then I'll get excited about the tech.

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  • [–] 5 points 1 year ago (7 children)

    Second-hand Nissan Leaf?

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago (5 children)

    Right, used cars are feasible, I'm talking about new cars. A sub-$20k new commuter should be possible w/ sodium ion batteries.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago* (4 children)

    Buying new cars is stupid. You wasted several thousand just by driving it out of the dealership. Let someone else do that and buy it a year later with low milage and ten grand off.

    And the Nissan leaf is an absolute joy to drive.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (3 children)

    I buy used cars exclusively. A used EV that retails under $20k new will be very affordable used.

    My point isn't that used cars don't exist under $20k, my point is that sodium ion batteries are supposed to be way cheaper than lithium ion batteries, and they're more than sufficient for a commuter. I want those available where I live.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (1 child)

    the problem is that North American consumers don't rationally buy vehicles. They buy $60,000 pickups to commute to office jobs, and they want 500 mile EVs because of "range anxiety" which is likely going to be in the next DVM.

    Sodium batteries have a lower energy density, but they work better in cold temps. They are also inherently safer and last longer, longer than a car will last so they can be reused in the home battery market. Sodium is far less energy intensive to mine.

    Of course, the big problem in NA is all this tech is from China, while we just spent billions on lithium cells. China is making 8K TVs and we're just tooling up to make 12" Black and white TVs.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago

    And that's why the tariff situation pisses me off. I get that we don't want subsidized EVs from China to ruin the local EV market, but we should at least take the tech that works and implement it here. Maybe we can estimate the amount of subsidies the Chinese government gives its EV market and charge that on import, idk, I'm not an economist so I don't know what that would look like. I just know I want an inexpensive EV for commuting and I only need to go about 50-60 miles in a given day (call it 100 if I need to run some errands after work). If I can get that, during winter, for a low price, I'll buy.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (1 child)

    What car anywhere is sub $20k?

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago*

    The Kia Soul is just over $20k, but not EV.

    The Nissan Leaf is about $30k w/ ~300 mile range (my local area's cheapest is $36k, but I guess that's because they don't carry base trims), and a replacement battery is something like $5-10k, depending on size. That's pretty close to that $20k target, and given that the Soul is around that $20k price, I could see a manufacturer getting a sodium-ion based EV with limited range (say, 100-150 miles) right around $20k.

    The Slate truck is targeting $25k or so, so if the battery prices are similar to the Leaf, that's your $20k vehicle right there.

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