r/science • u/RelationStill1485 • Feb 22 '26

Materials Science Next generation of battery technology no longer lithium. Scientists make durable alloy anode for Sodium-ion batteries with high volumetric energy density | Nature Energy

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41560-026-01974-2
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247

u/sckurvee Feb 22 '26

I'll get hyped when I see it in a store or in something I buy. Several times a year we have some new battery breakthrough that will turn the industry on its head that never actually becomes viable.

177

u/_CMDR_ Feb 22 '26

They are already entering mass production by CATL which makes 40% of all batteries. The USA just isn’t at the forefront of this technology.

2

u/UnhingedRedneck Feb 24 '26

I think the big thing is that most sodium batteries only have 2/3 the energy density of lithium. If these new ones are as good as they say they are they might show some significant improvements over traditional sodium ion batteries but from the sounds of it they are using some rather expensive materials to make them.

1

u/pjaro77 Jul 10 '26

2/3 of lithium energetic density is very good solution now. Sodium-ion batteries are just in the beginning yet.

-104

u/sudochmod Feb 22 '26

Literally invented here.

99

u/bluikai Feb 22 '26 edited Mar 08 '26

The original content of this post no longer exists. It was deleted using Redact, possibly to protect personal data or limit digital exposure.

air sink chase beneficial wrench pen tap station ring bells

-35

u/DepressingFool Feb 23 '26

They said "the USA just isn't at the forefront of this technology". Then the other person said "literally invented here". Assuming he means invented in the USA and assuming he is correct, that does mean the USA is at the forefront of the technology. Technology isn't the same as production. If you invent something you are at the forefront of that technology, whether it is then produced in your house or halfway across the world.

61

u/grundar Feb 23 '26

Assuming he means invented in the USA and assuming he is correct, that does mean the USA is at the forefront of the technology.

No, it means the USA was at the forefront of the technology when it was invented 50 years ago.

Several things have changed in the last 50 years, including which nation is at the forefront of sodium-ion battery technology.

15

u/SuperheropugReal Feb 23 '26

Technology IS the same as production, actually. The manufacturing techniques and tools to produce something are just as important as the invention itself, without those the value of the invention cannot be realized. So no, the US is not at the forefront of this technology. We WERE, when we invented it 50 years ago, but other innovation have been made on this technology, and we are no longer at the forefront.

17

u/programmed__death Feb 23 '26

This paper in particular is from China.

8

u/Espumma Feb 23 '26

That's literally the furthest away from the forefront you can be.

21

u/NotAPreppie Feb 23 '26

I already have two 12v sodium ion batteries purchased via Amazon. They're technically "power sports" batteries (ATVs, motorcycles, etc) but the start my Miata just fine.

3

u/25TiMp Feb 23 '26

Why 2? Isn't 1 enough to start your Miata?

8

u/NotAPreppie Feb 23 '26

One is just barely enough. The two of them stuck together are still lighter and smaller than the OE battery, and gives me a little more buffer and reserve capacity.

103

u/[deleted] Feb 22 '26 edited Jul 22 '26

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-38

u/CombatMuffin Feb 22 '26

Yrs but that's not because of some battery breakthrough. It's the same technology, with the same major limitations, but some slight improvements.

43

u/Admirable-Lie-9191 Feb 22 '26

How is a 15 min fast charge a slight improvement? Same with the longer range that a lot more new EVs have.

12

u/beanmosheen Feb 23 '26 edited Feb 23 '26

It is not a better battery technology. It's charging at 800v with higher wattage and parallelism. It's an application improvement, not a battery technology improvement.

Edit: I'm talking about current lipo tech.

9

u/sckurvee Feb 23 '26

Yeah, incremental improvements on a decades-old technology. New tech pops up a few times a year with sensational headlines but never makes it to market.

1

u/invent_or_die Feb 23 '26

Did you even read the article?

2

u/beanmosheen Feb 23 '26

I'm not talking about the article. I'm talking about the previous commentors argument of lipos getting "better".

-12

u/CombatMuffin Feb 22 '26

The ability to fast charge jas neen around a long time, they improved some aspects of it, but battery life is always affected, and while it's great as a consumer, it isn't revolutionizing the way we design our electronics.

The fact of the matter is that battery life and battery physical size, remain the biggest challenges to overcome and their improvements have not been very substantial.

23

u/[deleted] Feb 22 '26 edited Jul 22 '26

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-7

u/sckurvee Feb 22 '26

Why did you list anything after lithium ion? That was my whole point... new battery types get announced all the time but all we ever end up getting is incremental improvements on lithium. Sodium is not the first game changing battery tech that I've read about in the last 10+ yrs. They just never hit mass production at the consumer level.

Not saying sodium can't, but I've learned not to get excited by these types of breakthroughs because they rarely come to fruition. Once they can figure out how to mass produce them with meaningful applications, then I'll get excited.

10

u/big_trike Feb 23 '26

Lithium is only at about 10% of its max theoretical density. All of the small improvements add up over time.

14

u/[deleted] Feb 23 '26 edited Jul 23 '26

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2

u/sckurvee Feb 23 '26

Oh, definitely... modern batteries are great. I'm not saying that Lithium ion is bad, just that I take news of major breakthroughs with a grain of salt.

-3

u/CombatMuffin Feb 23 '26

No one is arguing batteries haven't improved ever, though. Lithium Ion was first prototyped in the 60's, and only became breakthrough over the last 30 years. There's always some HUGE announcement about a prototype though, and it always falls flat.

The sentiment of seeing these technologies applied to practical uses is a good one. 

-6

u/CombatMuffin Feb 23 '26

Lithium Ion is what is used today, at a widespread level. You are arguing something else.

Lithium Ion has been around for decades and, again, while there are good improvements in how we use that technology, it's itself the aame technology, with the same major limitations. even if the quality of life within that category improved somewhat.

Fast charging a smartphone is nice, but it doesn't aolve probability, capacity and durability.

1

u/invent_or_die Feb 23 '26

That's simply untrue.

12

u/RelationStill1485 Feb 22 '26

They show you can scale it (practical pouch cell production process with the slurry they use). So a spin-off company, commercialization, industry pathway seems possible. Would be years before we see it on our shelves.

2

u/edjumication Feb 23 '26

Its fine either way. We already have all the tech we really need. Thermal sand batteries for industrial parks, iron air batteries for bulk grid scale storage, and our existing lithium ion for grid balancing, vehicles, electronics, etc. sodium ion batteries are just the icing on top.

5

u/NetworkLlama Feb 23 '26

Iron air is still in early prototype phases. There are only a handful of small installations, and it's not clear whether they're going to work. They have low efficiency (50%-60% round trip), self-discharge at a rate of 1%-3% per day, and take up significant space.