Fascinating structural analysis. The recycling economics problem you outline is probly the most underappreciated barrier sodium-ion faces longterm. Europe's regulatory framework assumes material scarcity creates recycling incentives, but with abundant sodium that entire circularity model collapses. I've seen similar misalignment in rare earth policy where abundence assumptions broke existing frameworks.
Thansk. It’s already tough for European recyclers to make money on LFP, so imagine sodium-ion.
Circularity needs to be built into the strategy and into product design from day one, not bolted on at the end. Too often we push responsibility downstream and hope someone else will solve it later.
China is indeed putting more effort into making sodium-ion viable than anything we’ve seen in the West and there is a possibility we are heading into a future where sodium supply chains end up as dependent on China as are the lithium ones.
What do you then make out of it all? What do you think is the future of the battery industry in the West in the next five years?
I think the West should prioritise lithium-ion first, to build large-scale manufacturing experience and real know-how. That requires building a full supply chain, and we still lack key pieces: anode capacity, electrolyte ingredient capacity, and more cathode capacity.
Next-generation technologies, like silicon anodes, lithium metal, and solid-state electrolytes, should be in the R&D pipeline now. But the near-term focus has to be execution.
Sodium-ion can be a later option, not the starting point. The supply chain is still uncoordinated and slow to build. If we try to stand up lithium-ion and sodium-ion ecosystems at the same time, it risks turning into the same chaos we already see today, just multiplied.
Fascinating structural analysis. The recycling economics problem you outline is probly the most underappreciated barrier sodium-ion faces longterm. Europe's regulatory framework assumes material scarcity creates recycling incentives, but with abundant sodium that entire circularity model collapses. I've seen similar misalignment in rare earth policy where abundence assumptions broke existing frameworks.
Thansk. It’s already tough for European recyclers to make money on LFP, so imagine sodium-ion.
Circularity needs to be built into the strategy and into product design from day one, not bolted on at the end. Too often we push responsibility downstream and hope someone else will solve it later.
China is indeed putting more effort into making sodium-ion viable than anything we’ve seen in the West and there is a possibility we are heading into a future where sodium supply chains end up as dependent on China as are the lithium ones.
What do you then make out of it all? What do you think is the future of the battery industry in the West in the next five years?
I think the West should prioritise lithium-ion first, to build large-scale manufacturing experience and real know-how. That requires building a full supply chain, and we still lack key pieces: anode capacity, electrolyte ingredient capacity, and more cathode capacity.
Next-generation technologies, like silicon anodes, lithium metal, and solid-state electrolytes, should be in the R&D pipeline now. But the near-term focus has to be execution.
Sodium-ion can be a later option, not the starting point. The supply chain is still uncoordinated and slow to build. If we try to stand up lithium-ion and sodium-ion ecosystems at the same time, it risks turning into the same chaos we already see today, just multiplied.