These days, batteries are found in just about every electronic device you could imagine. From phones to lawn mowers to cars, the items that make life in the modern world happen to do so with a battery of some kind behind them. Regardless of their use, most batteries on the market today are of the lithium-ion variety. Not to be confused with the much different alkaline batteries, lithium-ion batteries feature the movement of lithium ions through a liquid electrolyte between a cathode and anode, while the electron within the external circuit moves in the opposite direction. This generates power, allowing for all kinds of products to function
Meanwhile, another type of battery has risen to prominence that acts very much in the same way. As the name implies, sodium-ion batteries utilize sodium salts rather than lithium to move the electrons necessary to power your device. Sodium-ion batteries also include a cathode and anode, just like their lithium-based contemporaries, in addition to a liquid electrolyte to house the sodium atoms. Overall, it may seem that these two battery types are more or less the same, and that’s not entirely inaccurate. However, considering how much cheaper sodium-ion batteries are to produce than lithium-ion ones, it makes sense why they’ve steadily gained traction.
With that said, gaining traction isn’t the same as becoming the new battery standard. Theoretically, could sodium-ion batteries replace lithium-ion batteries in the near future, firmly cementing their place among this generation’s new revolutionary battery technologies?