SODIUM-ION BATTERIES

Are we witnessing a David Vs Goliath battle brewing up in the fairly nascent EV industry?

- SHASHANK SINGH

The Goliath, or lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries, have charted the course for electric vehicles (EV) completely, all over the world in fact. Suddenly we have started looking at EVs as our next purchase. This is so because these batteries are highly efficient, they pack in more electric charge (six times more than previous generation batteries), provide more range, are comparatively light weight and the likes. Now you can use your EV for all practical purposes in your city with all the comfort of airconditioning/heating and infotainment, without worrying about running out of juice. Current generation electric cars can cover anywhere between 250km to 500km on a single charge among various examples. That’s a lot by a long shot.

In hindsight, Li-ion batteries are also expensive, owing to the costly and a rare element used to build them, i.e. lithium, of course. Tata Nexon EV costs approximately Rs 4 lakh more than its petrol sibling. On the top of it, Li-ion batteries are highly reactive, thus prone to catching fire. So they need expensive electronics to protect them from power surge, excess heat and run-away reactions which causes such phenomenon. Remember the scary episodes of Li-ion battery packs of Boeing 787-Dreamliners catching fire mid-air? Not to mention, this will eventually escalate its already exorbitant cost even more.