Stanford: Sodium-ion batteries need breakthroughs to compete

A thorough analysis of market and supply chain outcomes for sodium-ion batteries and their lithium-ion competitors is the first by STEER, a new Stanford and SLAC energy technology analysis program.

Legions of battery engineers and their supporters have sought for years to build batteries cheaper than the dominant lithium-ion technology, hoping to capture some of lithium-ion’s $50 billion-a-year and growing market. The latest darling contender among researchers, startups, and venture capitalists – sodium-ion batteries – has received much attention after COVID-induced mineral supply chain challenges sent lithium prices on a wild ride. Still, achieving a low-cost contender may be several years away for sodium-ion batteries and will require technological advances and favorable market conditions, according to a new study in Nature Energy.

Sodium-ion batteries are often assumed to have lower costs and more resilient supply chains compared to lithium-ion batteries. Despite much potential, sodium-ion batteries still face an uphill struggle. The amount of energy they hold per pound tends to be lower than lithium-ion batteries. So, possible lower materials prices aside, the cost per unit of energy stored remains higher for sodium-ion batteries. This likely would limit widespread commercial adoption – unless research breakthroughs can be made first.

The most fertile areas for advancement are highlighted in the study, the first by a new partnership between the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability’s Precourt Institute for Energy and the SLAC-Stanford Battery Center. The new program, STEER, assesses the technological and economic potential of emerging energy technologies and advises “what to build, where to innovate, and how to invest” for the energy transition. The new study evaluated more than 6,000 scenarios to test the robustness of their roadmaps for sodium-ion batteries’ competitive potential.

“The price of lithium-ion batteries rose for the first time in 2022, which set off alarms for potentially needing an alternative. Sodium-ion is perhaps the most compelling near-term challenger to lithium-ion, and many battery companies announced plans of major build-out of sodium-ion manufacturing, promising pathways to lower prices than the incumbent,” said Adrian Yao, the study’s lead author and the founder and team lead of STEER, which began in October 2023 with the support of three offices within the U.S. Department of Energy.