Just been reading an article about Sodium-Ion Motorcycle batteries and it makes them sound too good to be true: Low weight Small size Far Greener than Lithium No moral issues around extracting Sodium, unlike Lithium. Cheap. Charging profile electronics built in. Oh, and they don't burst into flames. The one downside at the moment appears to be availability. Anyone have any experiance?
Surprised this technology hasn’t been suppressed or is that me being too cynical ? It would seem on the surface that these are ideal where energy density and battery mass aren’t the key requirements. I suspect very early days to see the technology filtering down to applications like ICE batteries as they appear to be initially developed with commercial/domestic energy storage solutions in mind. Nothing mentioned in the articles I’ve read claiming “green” credentials, mention recycling, a major issue with Lithium chemistry batteries. Andy
The article was in Classic Motorcycle Mechanics, by the guy who runs Bikers Toolbox, and although he's selling them they did appear too good to be true: He 's not selling them at the moment as there aren't any to sell! https://www.bikerstoolbox.co.uk/products/sodium-ion-motorcycle-battery?_pos=1&_sid=fc6bab0a8&_ss=r The Green credentials compared to Lithium are based on it being easy to extract Sodium from seawater and incredibly damaging to the environment to extract Lithium from the ground. Not to mention the morality of how the miners are treated to give you your EV.
The example in CCM was him changing the battery in his Trumpet 955, and the new one being smaller, less than 1kg, and with more CCA. Than lead acid, not Lithium. But the point was all the advantages of Lithium without the evironmental, moral, and safety concerns.
I agree wholeheartedly, a very positive move towards a more environmentally sustainable future but I’m not sure it’s a viable solution for the wider automotive application. You can’t overcome the drawback of the lower energy density when you are size constrained. The cynic in me still suspects there is a risk the biggest investors in Lithium chemistry (oddly Germany being one) will buy it out and bury it, just like they did with the aluminium chemistry battery invented by a Brit engineer. Never heard of it ? I rest my case Andy
I read this about them. The biggest limitation is lower energy density. That means: sodium-ion batteries are usually heavier or they store less energy for the same size For motorcycles, especially sport bikes where compact weight matters, lithium batteries still have an advantage. Focus of development is elsewhere, for example the EV market and grid energy storage. It is an emerging technology, hence the difficulty in sourcing them. The safety benefits are appealing though.
Thanks both of you. Yes, I agree compared to Lithium, but compared to Lead Acid they appear better for bikes. Not looking for every ounce of weight loss on a race bike I think I'd be far happier at this stage converting my road bikes to Sodium than Lithium.
