this post was submitted on 25 Feb 2026
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[–] SpaceCowboy@lemmy.ca 6 points 5 hours ago

Sodium Ion is a real game changer. But I doubt it will compete with Lithium Ion on energy density anytime soon.

But that's not necessary to make major changes in the power grid. Solar and wind is already cheapest form of energy generation even considering the expense of Lithium to store the energy when renewables aren't generating. If you're just installing stationary battery banks, you don't care that much about the energy density as you would for a battery in a car or phone. Set up banks of cheap sodium ion batteries strategically and not only do you have plenty of power stored for when it's not sunny or windy, you may avoid widespread power outages when power lines are downed.

[–] froh42@lemmy.world 29 points 9 hours ago (2 children)

TWICE AS MUCH COMPARED TO WHAT????

My left ball?

[–] rob_t_firefly@lemmy.world 16 points 8 hours ago (4 children)

To answer your question we'll need to conduct a series of electrical tests on your left ball. Please report to the lab as soon as possible, and wear loose pants.

[–] Abundance114@lemmy.world 1 points 2 hours ago

Uh, can we do this experiment on someone else's balls? Asking for a friend.

[–] froh42@lemmy.world 3 points 5 hours ago

Oooh, kinky.

[–] postmateDumbass@lemmy.world 4 points 7 hours ago

You really need a statistical baseline on a population of left nuts.

Should set up a PPV website to offset costs of the study.

[–] UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world 3 points 7 hours ago* (last edited 7 hours ago)

Going to need a control ball relative to the variable ball to calibrate your measurements.

[–] freepizza4life@lemmy.world 11 points 9 hours ago (2 children)

Compared to a non-hydrous sodium vanadium oxide system.

[–] froh42@lemmy.world 6 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

Yep, I'm just annoyed by lazy headlines.

[–] nek0d3r@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

YOU WON'T BELIEVE ~~Actor Joins Film~~

[–] uberfreeza@lemmy.world 2 points 6 hours ago

"They said I wouldn't believe it."

[–] Reygle@lemmy.world 53 points 13 hours ago (6 children)

Every week with the "miracle battery!" headlines. This has been going on for ages and I'm sick of it.

[–] RaoulDook@lemmy.world 20 points 8 hours ago (2 children)

Sodium-ion batteries are not hype though, they are in production use in multiple industries already. They are generally superior to Lithium based batteries in all regards, with the exception of having a bit lower energy density. An equivalent LiFePO4 battery might be 70-80% of the size for the same storage. It's not a big deal for large applications like cars and solar storage.

[–] J92@lemmy.world 2 points 2 hours ago

Yeah, the advantages of all these sodium batteries, in my mind, is that they are stable and rugged enough to build up a backbone of a energy storage system for a grid. I'm seriously thinking about them for my house, in the UK.

[–] Reygle@lemmy.world 2 points 8 hours ago
[–] SocialMediaRefugee@lemmy.world 11 points 12 hours ago (2 children)

Right up there with "cause/cure for dementia found"

[–] Reygle@lemmy.world 15 points 12 hours ago (2 children)

"Dyslexia for cure found!"

[–] postmateDumbass@lemmy.world 3 points 7 hours ago

350 page study concludes some people spend too much time reading.

[–] SocialMediaRefugee@lemmy.world 6 points 12 hours ago (2 children)

We found the cure for Alzheimer's but can't remember what it was. I think it began with a "c". Who are you?

[–] hume_lemmy@lemmy.ca 2 points 8 hours ago

It's time for your nap, Mr President.

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[–] nek0d3r@lemmy.dbzer0.com 26 points 13 hours ago (3 children)
[–] vaultdweller013@sh.itjust.works 6 points 9 hours ago (1 children)

You can throw any battery in the ocean. The better question is should you?

[–] Rakonat@lemmy.world 3 points 2 hours ago

Who else is going to feed the eels?

[–] SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca 20 points 13 hours ago* (last edited 13 hours ago) (2 children)

We are close to finding out why some liquids are blue.

[–] bampop@lemmy.world 2 points 7 hours ago

The Gargamel Research Institute

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[–] humanspiral@lemmy.ca 16 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

Sodium Ion already does 5000+ cycles. Adding Vanadium is not a scalable material. It is very expensive. 400 cycles steady is not useful information because it needs to do much more. They didn't state a wh/kg density. This is probably not a viable research vector, but "big Vanadium" has proposed a rental model to make Vanadium more scarce for other applications. Flow batteries (a fuel cell with tanks of electrolytes) provides an ultra easy way of recycling/selling the vanadium for traditional uses. Battery rental that forces returning it could be viable.

[–] SocialMediaRefugee@lemmy.world 7 points 12 hours ago

Right up there with the batteries that would contain about 1 kg of silver in them. Even if they didn't become insanely expensive you'd have tweakers foaming at the mouth to steal your batteries.

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