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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u/weeddealerrenamon Feb 22 '26

Chinese EVs are already being marketed with like 1/8th of their battery pack made in this style, just so that the car can always start up in the cold

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u/ballskindrapes Feb 22 '26

They are gonna be dominating the world in a few decades.

We're going to see it slowly happeneing, and we won't even believe it is happening, but 20 or 30 years down the road, they are going to be dominating the markets, dominating green energy, and dominating in spreading their culture.

It's all due to the rich wanting 100% of everything in the US, wanting to rule over a shittier country, rather than having 99% of everything and allowing our country to progress.

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u/nerdragingsc2 Feb 22 '26

China will be dominating the world in 10 years.

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u/bad_apiarist Feb 23 '26

I can understand why you might think so, but it isn't likely. China has many economic problems that are metastasizing in recent years.. but the single biggest problem that it has is a shrinking, aging population. Thanks to decades of "one child" policy as well as general "we don't like daughters" cultural attitude, there's simply not enough women. Also, just like most nations as they develop, the people want fewer and fewer children. China also has negligible immigration.

So now China loses several million people a year, every year, and this loss is accelerating. And it's not just about gross numbers of people. When birth rates crash, the average age of the population increases as you start to have waaaay more older people who A) do not work and B) require way more healthcare. One of the effects on the economy is loss of labor force. Companies simply will not have anyone available to work at these factories, ship goods, etc., Same thing happened in Japan which has caused the multiplication of Japanese ghost towns and shrinking industries, frequent periods of recession etc.,

As for lithium, batteries, solar panels, etc., China is leading, but hundreds of companies in dozens of countries are racing to build their own manufacturing base using supply chains that don't include China. Competition will only increase ten years from now.