Shocked Battle of the Batteries
Oct 20, 2025
Join Shirley Meng, a Pritzker School professor and battery scientist, alongside Spencer Gore, co-founder of Bedrock Materials, as they dive into the fascinating world of battery innovation. They discuss the potential of solid-state sodium-ion batteries as a game-changer in energy storage. Spencer shares insights into his startup's challenges and the difficult decision to close, while Shirley highlights the urgency for the U.S. to advance sodium technology amidst growing competition from China. Can the next generation of batteries rise to the occasion?
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China's Industrial Push Won The Battery Race
- China deliberately built an industrial policy to dominate batteries and related supply chains.
- That control created affordable products like BYD's Dolphin and widened the U.S.-China tech gap.
Pitching Sodium To Silicon Valley
- Spencer Gore pitched Bedrock to investors by arguing sodium reduces mineral costs and is abundant in the U.S.
- The pitch resonated and the startup raised more than planned to pursue sodium cathode materials.
Sodium Reuses Lithium Manufacturing Advantage
- Sodium-ion batteries reuse much of lithium-ion manufacturing tech and rely on abundant sodium from trona.
- That makes sodium a potential way to avoid lithium supply chokepoints if economics align.