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The first EV with a lithium-free sodium battery hits the road in January
(www.engadget.com)
This is a most excellent place for technology news and articles.
Question to anyone who might know more: would sodium based batteries be better than lithium ones for the environment, in terms of recycling or disposing of it?
In case they are indeed better, would they be better because it's better to use less lithium in general (so if you use more sodium based ones, you use less lithium) or would they be also better because their own disposal is "nicer" (as in less toxic) for the environment?
I don't find the source anymore, but i saw a lifetime analysis about sodium ion batteries. Overall they are slighly worse than lithium ion due to higher energy input required during fabrication, despite better mineral availability.
The most common Na-ion batteries use Prussian Blue.
I suppose maybe they're still useful innovations if they can be made with minerals which are more available.
Probably, we could achieve a balance between one type and the other, but I'm daydreaming now...