EENY, MEENY, CHINY, MOE

WHO DRINKS THE BATTERY CUP OF JOE

A scenario where it feels like important lessons will be learned continues to unfold in China.

In late December, the first JAC Yiwei rolled off the production line in Suizhou City, Hubei Province. As production ramps up, the cars will likely be popular because Chinese are becoming car owners at a rapid pace, accounting for about half of global sales. And with new restrictions to curb emissions, low-cost EVs are the vehicle of choice. The subcompact, backed by Volkswagen and designed for city use, is powered by a sodium-ion battery, making it a first of its kind.

That’s right. It’s lithium-free electric, and if your head isn’t already buzzing about that, here’s why it should be.

In the mad scramble to meet climate emissions targets by eliminating fossil fuel transportation, a roadblock is looming; a lithium shortage. Researchers are projecting shortfalls will become an issue in as little as three years.

That would put the spotlight directly on China, where demand for lithium for EVs is projected to grow on average by 20% annually through 2032. During the same period, its production of lithium could increase by as little as 6%.

And that really matters because China is responsible for 70% of the world’s lithium processing. That’s adding up toward a global crisis.

But is it?

Lithium presents a bigger issue in that it’s a nonrenewable natural resource, mining it has a big carbon footprint and uses lots of water, the toxic metals in lithium-ion batteries make disposal an issue and since every little of it is found in China, there’s the impact of shipping raw lithium there.

Contrast that with sodium, the sixth most common element and 2.6% of the Earth’s crust. There for the easy taking.

A drawback of the sodium-ion battery is its relatively low energy density; and less storage per volume. That means bigger, heavier batteries to achieve the same performance as lithium-ion. That pushes us back a few squares in the consumer-driven market – range.

Because of their need to be bulkier, sodium-ion batteries are more suitable to stationary energy storage, instead of onboard. BloombergNEF predicts that by 2030, they could account for 23% of that market. Their real value as a climate solution may be in that realm.

With all the competition out there around battery efficiency, maybe sodium has bigger potential than we can see at the moment. And there are a lot of alternatives under development, like zinc batteries, and others made from one of the world’s biggest waste products, clam shells. It certainly seems like we need to keep looking for the best solution.

It’s a good guess we’ll quickly see how it works in China, and get a clue as to how it may translate elsewhere.

On board, the Yiwei are cylindrical cells from HiNa Battery, a Beijing company affiliated with the Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and JAC’s UE, honeycomb-structured, modular tech battery. The UE is similar to BYD’s blade battery used by big brands like Ford, Toyota and Kia.