Sodium-ion batteries offer lithium alternative
Left behind by China’s dominance of the lithium-ion battery industry, South Korea has now set national targets to prioritise the development of sodium-ion batteries for domestic and commercial energy storage
LITHIUM RESERVES
Bolivia 23m
Argentina 22m
U.S. 14m
Chile 11m
Australia 8.7m
China 6.8m
Germany 3.8m
Canada 3m
Congo 3m
Other  9.7m
105 million tons
China controls 61% of lithium refining and produces 79% of lithium-ion batteries
SODIUM RESERVES
Estimated potential global soda ash (sodium carbonate) reserves
~50 billion tons
Can also be extracted from near inexhaustible suppy in seawater
Can be transported at zero volts – lithium requires minimal charge
U.S. 23bn
Turkey 840m
Tanzania 700m
Ethiopia 400m
Others 303m
25.2 billion tons*
*Quantified
BATTERY TECHNOLOGY
1
2
3
3
2
1
Cathode
Separator
Anode
+
-
Sodium-ion
Charges faster
3x higher lifecycle
Less prone to thermal runaway
Lithium-ion
Charging:
0˚C - 45˚C
Usage:
-20˚C - 60˚C
Charging:
-20˚C - 60˚C
Usage:
-40˚C - 70˚C
Energy density: 160-300 Wh/kg
Better for EVs
Energy density: 90–160 Wh/kg
Better for static storage
Aluminium foil
Aluminium foil
Lithium Cobalt Oxide: Costly raw materials
Layered Transition Metal Oxides: Based on sodium
Graphite
Hard carbon
Copper foil
Aluminium foil
Less than 30% cost of copper
Sources: USGS, Science Direct, UPS Battery Center
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