Oh no! Yet another story on battery technology...
December 7, 2024 2:13 AM Subscribe
Lower-cost sodium-ion batteries are finally having their moment
Is it a miracle? Are we saved?
Whenever there's a technology or science news item that you may wish to better understand, a go-to starting point is Ars Technica.
...and to get directly to the point: click straight on the comments icon and then immediately sort by votes.
Voila!
5-10 comments in and you're suddenly well situated on the topic.
Then, consider going back and reading Ars Technica's generally excellent reporting in the article itself.
Is it a miracle? Are we saved?
Whenever there's a technology or science news item that you may wish to better understand, a go-to starting point is Ars Technica.
...and to get directly to the point: click straight on the comments icon and then immediately sort by votes.
Voila!
5-10 comments in and you're suddenly well situated on the topic.
Then, consider going back and reading Ars Technica's generally excellent reporting in the article itself.
How is it that the America, which faces the most geopolitical stresses from its rival China, due to reliance on nickel and cobalt, doesn't have a stronger national policy on this line of tech than... China??? The only thought that comes to mind is, private advantages trumps national goals.
Gestures broadly ...
[financial post:] “Imposing tariffs on Canadian mineral and metal exports to the U.S. would run counter to the shared goals of secure and reliable supply chains,” Pierre Gratton, the mining association’s president, said in Tuesday’s statement. “Such measures risk disrupting the essential flow of these resources, undermining the competitiveness of North American industries, and exacerbating vulnerabilities in critical mineral supply chains that both nations are working to address.”
posted by HearHere at 3:26 AM on December 7, 2024 [4 favorites]
Gestures broadly ...
[financial post:] “Imposing tariffs on Canadian mineral and metal exports to the U.S. would run counter to the shared goals of secure and reliable supply chains,” Pierre Gratton, the mining association’s president, said in Tuesday’s statement. “Such measures risk disrupting the essential flow of these resources, undermining the competitiveness of North American industries, and exacerbating vulnerabilities in critical mineral supply chains that both nations are working to address.”
posted by HearHere at 3:26 AM on December 7, 2024 [4 favorites]
I am very interested in battery tech right now. We have solar panels with no home battery, and we're hitting that part of the year in New Zealand where we export more than we import most days, and I start thinking man, what if we really could use all the power we generate.
According to the last quote I got for a LiPO4 battery we would hit break-even in a decade, if power prices did not go up, and less if they do (and they assuredly will). But I ask myself how far away cheaper batteries are... maybe I should wait a year or two before pulling the trigger? It would be great to have that crystal ball right now.
(Some people I know are using decommissioned battery cells from written-off EVs, which can be obtained cheaply, but I don't have the DIY capability for that)
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 12:52 PM on December 7, 2024 [1 favorite]
According to the last quote I got for a LiPO4 battery we would hit break-even in a decade, if power prices did not go up, and less if they do (and they assuredly will). But I ask myself how far away cheaper batteries are... maybe I should wait a year or two before pulling the trigger? It would be great to have that crystal ball right now.
(Some people I know are using decommissioned battery cells from written-off EVs, which can be obtained cheaply, but I don't have the DIY capability for that)
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 12:52 PM on December 7, 2024 [1 favorite]
Yet another story on battery technology
OMG the title of this post! I'm involved in EVs, and whenever someone notes a report on some miraculous new energy storage technology (usually involving blindingly fast charging) I remind them that it's just This Week's Breathless Battery Tech Story (TWBBTS).
Re getting decent insight by sorting comments on quality (or, here, votes) I literally used to say the exact same thing about Slashdot. Thirty years ago! Damn. (It's not so true anymore, but hey at least it's not TwiX.)
posted by intermod at 8:14 PM on December 7, 2024
OMG the title of this post! I'm involved in EVs, and whenever someone notes a report on some miraculous new energy storage technology (usually involving blindingly fast charging) I remind them that it's just This Week's Breathless Battery Tech Story (TWBBTS).
Re getting decent insight by sorting comments on quality (or, here, votes) I literally used to say the exact same thing about Slashdot. Thirty years ago! Damn. (It's not so true anymore, but hey at least it's not TwiX.)
posted by intermod at 8:14 PM on December 7, 2024
Every year I check with the solar power company about a battery and every year they tell me it's not cost effective yet. If anything, prices have gone up since I started asking.
I've taken the policy of trusting them, since it'd be an easy $10k or more for them if they'd just sell me a battery without advising against it first.
posted by Silentgoldfish at 9:08 AM on December 8, 2024 [1 favorite]
I've taken the policy of trusting them, since it'd be an easy $10k or more for them if they'd just sell me a battery without advising against it first.
posted by Silentgoldfish at 9:08 AM on December 8, 2024 [1 favorite]
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I like the option of Sodium-Ion batteries, to avoid warring over Lithium, Nickel or Cobalt. The energy density and the mass doesn't matter if the battery is a static home array.
posted by k3ninho at 3:25 AM on December 7, 2024 [6 favorites]