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Cake day: October 25th, 2023

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  • Sodium ion’s biggest issue is it’s energy density by volume. It takes up about twice the space compared to to li-ion cells. I’m pretty sure that’s why they usually only mention the energy density by weight. By weight sodium’s density isn’t great but it’s not terribly behind LFP cells. (120-160 wh/kg mentioned by CATL and other companies) Later in the decade, CATL has announced improving their energy density to 200 wh/kg. (Not sure about volumetric improvements.)

    Hopefully this doesn’t sound negative. Sodium ion has huge potential. Other areas where sodium ion could be a good fit are: lawn mower batteries, home equipment like snow blowers, golf carts or 12 volt batteries for cars. I can see all 12 volt batteries for all EVs going to sodium ion due to extended life and weight savings over lead acid. (Huge disruption risk for lead acid batteries.) it might even work for 12 volt ICE vehicle batteries as well. (Not sure if sodium ion power capabilities compared to lead acid.)






  • To be fair, EV prices are way down this year. Tesla prices are at or below similar ICE vehicles right now in most countries.

    As an example, the Chevy ICE blazer premier trim AWD and convince package is $47.05K! The Tesla model Y long range is $49K. It has a hell of a lot of power too and handles so much better. The fuel savings in one year is enough to bridge the gap. If you are eligible for the tax credit, it’s now significantly lower than ICE SUVs! If you think a Model Y should compete higher up, a BMW x4 starts at $55K…

    Now this isn’t every vehicle segment and not every electric car is a Tesla. Unfortunately, most of the BEVs offered are on the higher end of the market in general. But the prices are so much closer to ICE version compared to last year. And yes, they still need to go down. (And likely will partially due to battery prices.)