

Charge of the lithium brigade - tosh
http://www.economist.com/news/technology-quarterly/21651928-lithium-ion-battery-steadily-improving-new-research-aims-turbocharge

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1053r
Article contradicts itself and reality to make lithium ion seem more
expensive. First it says that batteries typically cost $500 / kWh, so that a
battery for a "small electric car can cost around $10,000". (As an aside,
Nissan will sell me a replacement battery for my LEAF for $5499. [1]) This is
$229.13 / kWh, because my LEAF has a 24 kWh battery.

Then it says Tesla is selling the 10kWh PowerWall for $3500, which of course
is $350 / kWh.

Sloppy reporting. I expect better from the Economist.

1 - [http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1092983_nissan-leaf-
batt...](http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1092983_nissan-leaf-battery-
cost-5500-for-replacement-with-heat-resistant-chemistry)

~~~
revelation
And of course theres the obvious non-sequitur.

 _Many in the car industry believe the range needs to be close to 500km and
the cost around $100 per kilowatt-hour before all-electric vehicles will move
into the mass market. That would also allow smartphones and laptops to run for
days._

Right, if batteries get cheaper, my laptop will run longer.

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zackmorris
I really wish that sodium sulfur batteries were seeing more research. They are
one of the simplest batteries, and also have one of the highest energy
densities. Their main drawback is the need to run at 300 C (575 F). By
comparison, an oven bakes between about 175 C to 250 C (350 F to 500 F) and
has a cleaning cycle of about 500 C (900 F).

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium–sulfur_battery](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium–sulfur_battery)

[http://www.kemet.com/Lists/TechnicalArticles/Attachments/121...](http://www.kemet.com/Lists/TechnicalArticles/Attachments/121/2013-11%20Sodium-
Sulfur%20Batteries%20and%20Supercapacitors.pdf)

I’m more concerned about the 100 pounds of sulphur in an electric vehicle
battery than the temperature. An accident in water could be particularly
explosive. Then again, we use things all of the time that contain poisonous or
explosive compounds.

So what I think would have tremendous potential (cough) is the mass production
of small AA size sodium sulphur batteries. I picture them strung together like
a chain for a reel to reel tape player, so only the read/write head would be
hot. Play to charge, rewind to discharge, how hard is that?. This is 1960s
technology. The only esoteric component is the beta-alumina solid electrolyte
(BASE), the rest could be assembled by anybody.

The future is almost certainly high density batteries with supercapacitor
assist. Sodium sulphur batteries could be the bridge until Moore’s Law of
lithium batteries makes them affordable.

P.S. Just or fun: the nickel-iron battery:

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickel–iron_battery](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickel–iron_battery)

These should have long ago replaced lead-acid batteries (which are probably
only used due to their short lifetime which promotes a thriving production
infrastructure, much like razor blades).

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nate_meurer
No shit! I was super excited about sodium-sulfur about six years ago when
Ceramatec developed a ceramic membrane claimed to allow low-temperature NaS
batteries (IIRC, below 98 degrees C, with solid Na electrolyte). I've heard
nary a word since.

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Rexxar
Shouldn't it be this link ? [http://www.economist.com/news/technology-
quarterly/21651928-...](http://www.economist.com/news/technology-
quarterly/21651928-lithium-ion-battery-steadily-improving-new-research-aims-
turbocharge)

