China is way ahead in the EV game in terms of cost containment, diversity of models, value for money and loads of features. And near monopoly on batteries (even Tesla uses BYD batteries).
But all lithium ion batteries are inherently highly flammable, regardless of QC. Under certain conditions they can catch fire spontaneously which can be very difficult to extinguish, resulting in threat to life and property. So lithium is an interim solution; in the longer term more viable alternatives to fossil fuels will have to be found.
No, I don't feel safe with EVs.
Me thinks and hope the sodium battery would be a good alternative.... futhermore the mining of lithium is very polluting and the batteries have recycling issues
Sodium Replaces Lithium In a New Type Of Battery
17:02 minutes
A woman wearing a yellow blazer smiles in a hallway
Professor Y. Shirley Meng of the UChicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering. Image courtesy of Dr. Y. Shirley Meng
If nations are to meet their sustainable energy goals, experts argue that batteries will be a crucial part of the equation. Not only are batteries key for many technologies, they’ll also be necessary to meet energy demands with a power grid that is mainly supplied by renewable energy sources like wind and solar. Without batteries, power from those sources can’t be stored for use when the sun isn’t shining or the wind isn’t blowing.
Right now, many technologies depend on lithium-ion batteries. While they certainly work well and have revolutionized mobile devices and electric vehicles, there are drawbacks. First, the lithium, cobalt, and nickel they require can only be found in some countries, and there have been accusations of unethical mining practices, including child labor. The mining and production processes also emit a large amount of CO2, and the batteries themselves can explode and cause fires, although these incidents are becoming less common.
A promising, greener solution to our battery needs could be something called a solid-state battery. Lithium-ion batteries conduct electricity through a liquid electrolyte solution, while solid-state batteries do so with solid materials, such as ceramic, glass, and sulfides. This means they have lower risk of fires, charge faster, have higher voltages, and can be recycled. However, their development has taken longer than expected, due to cost, production hurdles, and lack of large-scale, real-world testing.
Earlier this month, teams at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering and the University of California San Diego published a paper in Nature Energy demonstrating the world’s first anode-free, sodium-based, solid-state battery architecture, which can charge quickly and last for several hundred cycles. Its main ingredient, sodium, is much more abundant than lithium, cobalt, and nickel, which could mean more affordable and environmentally friendly batteries in the future.
Ira Flatow sits down with Dr. Y. Shirley Meng, a professor at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering and chief scientist for energy storage science at Argonne National Laboratory, to talk about the advancement, and when we could expect to see these unique batteries in our devices.
Donate To Science Friday
Invest in quality science journalism by making a donation to Science Friday.
Segment Guests
Shirley Meng
Dr. Y. Shirley Meng is a professor of Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago and the chief scientist of the Argonne Collaborative Center for Energy Storage Science at Argonne National Laboratory in Lemont, Illinois.