Sodium Ion and Lithium Ion batteries

Difference between a Sodium Ion battery and a Lithium Ion battery

It’s hard to choose between sodium and lithium batteries without knowing what you’re getting.

Technology presentations are often linked to their production costs and not to their uses, so we’re going to talk about these 2 subjects separately.

Key figures :

Sodium is abundant and easy to extract, about 500 times more important than lithium. This element makes it a very attractive argument for manufacturers, along with others such asecology, which is much less polluting thanks to the use of aluminum, which is less expensive than copper. In comparison, China holds 79% of thesupply lines for lithium-ion batteries, and 61% of the refining lines. Argentina accounts for 21% of the world’s deposits, influencing global markets such as China.

Lithium batteries use rare materials such as cobalt and lithium, which have increased in cost by around 700%, and this is one of the main arguments for seeking alternatives. The first is independence from market prices and those who control them.

Let’s get out the numbers and compare

Now let’s take a look at the technical comparison between sodium and lithium batteries.

Technically speaking, Sodium batteries would be unobjective, despite their good resistance to low temperatures and low risk of fire. Sodium batteries have a short life cycle, making them the envy of LFP batteries. In comparison, a Sodium battery has an average life cycle of 3,000, compared with 5,000 to 8,000 for a LFP battery.

There’s a lot of enthusiasm for sodium batteries and a lot of plans for them, but so far very few are looking to the near future. The main problems are the lack of supply chains, or perhaps a lack of investors! The problem of the format of“non-cylindrical or prismatic” sodium batteries can also pose a problem for a manufacturer who, for example, already uses lithium-ion batteries in its vehicles.

Sodium batteries are less dense – 100 to 150 Wh/kg (heavier for less energy) – than lithium batteries, 120 to 180 Wh/kg. This is the most important factor to take into account, because the usefulness of a battery is the energy it can store with its weight and volume.

Lithium batteries are still the best in terms of overall performance, but sodium batteries could become the replacement for lead-acid batteries.


Fonctionnalité	Batterie au sodium	Batterie au lithium
Application	Les batteries au sodium conviennent aux applications de stockage d'énergie à grande échelle	Les batteries au lithium conviennent aux appareils portables et aux véhicules électriques
Coût	Moins cher que les batteries au lithium	Plus chères que les piles au sodium
Densité d'énergie	Densité énergétique inférieure à celle des batteries au lithium	Densité énergétique plus élevée par rapport aux batteries au sodium
Impact environnemental	Les batteries au sodium sont plus respectueuses de l'environnement que les batteries au lithium car elles utilisent des matériaux abondants et facilement disponibles.	Les batteries au lithium nécessitent des métaux et minéraux rares, qui peuvent avoir un impact négatif sur l'environnement.
Performance	Les batteries au sodium ont des performances inférieures à celles des batteries au lithium	Les batteries au lithium ont des performances supérieures à celles des batteries au sodium
Les possibilités de recharge	Les batteries au sodium ont une durée de vie plus courte et peuvent être rechargées moins de fois que les batteries au lithium.	Les batteries au lithium ont une durée de vie plus longue et peuvent être rechargées plus de fois que les batteries au sodium
Sécurité	Les batteries au sodium sont plus sûres, car elles n’explosent pas et ne s’enflamment pas facilement	Les batteries au lithium sont plus susceptibles de prendre feu ou d’exploser

In conclusion, we can say that the financial interests are there, but the performance of sodium batteries is still of little interest.

Their only arguments are that there will certainly be improvements to make them attractive to manufacturers in the future, and that they are well positioned to replace lead-acid batteries.