New sodium-ion batteries will drive down the price of electric cars

Sodium batteries have been mentioned regularly in recent months because they are cheaper than lithium iron phosphate batteries.

There’s already a date for (much) cheaper electric cars.

Sodium batteries have been around for a long time, and are known to be cheaper than lithium iron phosphate (FFL) batteries, but with a drawback, their energy density is lower than FFL and even nickel-cobalt-manganese cell batteries.

With the huge advantage of allowing electric cars to become much cheaper than they are today.

a CATL And BYD, two of the major manufacturers of electric vehicle batteries, already have these sodium batteries and with an arrival date!

These new batteries will allow new electric cars to reach Europe at a much cheaper rate than existing cars.

The truth is that the price of an electric vehicle is mostly the production cost associated with the battery, and sodium batteries are more economical than lithium iron phosphate batteries. And for those who don’t know, lithium iron phosphate batteries were, until today, the cheapest available on the market.

So let’s start looking at sodium batteries in compounds like BYD Seagull and other Ocean series models, or even in a format Chery models Which will be the first brand to integrate CATL sodium batteries.

Get ready to buy a much cheaper electric car

With the arrival date of sodium batteries, it will be possible to buy an electric car much cheaper than the current ones.

Is that according to this documentboth CATL and BYD are ready to start mass production of sodium batteries as of the last quarter of 2023. This means that at the end of 2023, and the beginning of 2024, the first electric cars with sodium batteries will be launched.

So far, the planned models are only sold in China, so it may take a few more months to reach Europe!

Sodium battery benefits

Thus, sodium batteries are an alternative to current electric car batteries, and they are more economical, as the raw materials are more abundant and cheaper to obtain.

Then, it is a type of battery that helps alleviate the world’s dependence on lithium.

And secondly, CATL, the first generation of these batteries, has an energy density of 160 W / kg, and when applied to electric vehicles, there will already be a second generation that reaches 200 W / kg. The closest value to current lithium iron phosphate batteries.

CATL’s goal is for these batteries to provide around 500 km of range for electric vehicles. Therefore, they will not be limited to urban cars entirely.

In the BYD Seagull model, this battery opens the door to an electric car that can cost only 10,500 euros (direct exchange rate) and has a range of about 305 kilometers in Dacia Spring dimensions! This autonomy according to the CLTC course!

Disadvantages of sodium batteries

Of course, there are also disadvantages to this type of battery, especially compared to current batteries.

The big drawback is the lower energy density compared to the current batteries that power electric vehicles.

They also have less charging power, as well as more limited voltage. But these shortcomings are insignificant in urban-style cars!

This is the case of a 30 kWh BYD, which can recover 80% of its power on low DC power.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vgVOcOYWNgg