Our first episode covering sodium-ion batteries featured a cautious take on the chemistry: Back in February Adrian Yao, founder of Stanford’s STEER program, explained the challenges of reaching competitive energy density and costs, especially given the falling price of LFP. Still, sodium-ion chemistries are picking up steam, thanks largely to growing deployments in stationary storage and small-scale mobility in China.

So what’s a more bullish take on sodium-ion?

In this episode, Shayle talks to Landon Mossburg, founder and CEO of sodium-ion battery manufacturer Peak Energy. He outlines a pathway to competitiveness and argues that, in the right applications, the advantages of sodium-ion chemistries outweigh their challenges. Shayle and Landon cover topics like:

Why almost all current deployments of sodium-ion capacity are in China — and why Korean battery giants are committed to LFP right now

The thermal advantages of sodium iron pyrophosphate (NFPP) vs. the higher energy densities of layered oxides

Sodium-ion's supply chain benefits and lower CapEx requirements

How NFPP’s system-level savings in cooling, safety, auxiliary power, and maintenance — plus strong cycle life — could offset its current cell cost premium

Resources:

Catalyst: The promise and perils of sodium-ion batteries

Latitude Media: Peak Energy’s quest to build US sodium-ion battery dominance

Latitude Media: Is it too late for the US to rival China on sodium-ion batteries?

Nature Energy: Critically assessing sodium-ion technology roadmaps and scenarios for techno-economic competitiveness against lithium-ion batteries

Credits: Hosted by Shayle Kann. Produced and edited by Daniel Woldorff. Original music and engineering by Sean Marquand. Stephen Lacey is our executive editor.

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