In the end, we will all be driving electric vehicles rather than vehicles powered by internal combustion engines. Recent political events in the Middle East has probably hastened this.
Many EVs used lithium-ion technology, but CATL in China has been exploring far cheaper alternatives like sodium-ion. Common salt is an abundant material. It is heavier.
For a while now China has been dominating the world battery market. India has announced a technology that might change that.
Most EV and battery manufacturers are trying hard to increase range and reduce costs. We hear today of yet another breakthrough. In my view we are on the cusp of a revolution.
It looks like Hyundai has created an amazing battery at a plant in Georgia (USA I think). It charges fast and has a much longer life and does not need lithium. It does not significantly degrade at low temperatures. Oh, by the way, it is cheaper!
BYD (allegedly) has just filed some new patents. BYD is working towards a future electric car that is designed for the mass markets (i.e. low cost, fast charging and decent range). I am sure other car manufacturers are racing to achieve this.
There has been an announcement made that Samsung is in pre-production with a solid state battery.
At first these could be expensive. As production ramps up prices will drop dramatically. Range could be huge and charge times fast.
Perhaps one of the upcoming rechargeable battery technologies will be based on sodium (i.e. salt).
It is my view that we are on the cusp of a revolution.
Although it has a lower energy density than the best lithium ion batteries, sodium is very plentiful and might make an ideal material for mass storage batteries.
An Australian company may have the answer to dramatically increasing the range of electric vehicles.
It would appear that lithium-ion batteries look optimal for range and weight. The disadvantage is that lithium is a rare earth material with limited supplies.
It looks like sodium-ion batteries might be answer. Sodium is widely available. CATL, the worlds's largest battery manufacturer, has a huge order for sodium-ion batteries.
CATL is the biggest battery manufacturer in the world and has announced some remarkable advances. In my view we are on the cusp of a transport revolution leaving fossil fuel vehicles left in the Stone Age.
Wake up USA, or you will be left far, far behind.
A lot of excitement (and incredulity!) was created at CES26 when a small start-up company announced it had created a sold-state battery with amazing claims.
Many just don't believe it, when huge companies with massive manpower and investment have failed. They also claim the battery does not use lithium!
Since then, they have been using an independent lab to carry out a series of "drip feed" tests. The only real test will be a tear-down of an actual production battery. If solid state batteries with enormous ranges come to market soon, this could be truly trasformational.
If true, many would be interested in the IP. Tests so far suggest it is indeed a solid state battery. I think "the jury is still out" although we should soon know.
We all know that electric cars (maybe hydrogen) are probably the future.
However, they are, on the whole, expensive with a limited range. They also tend to need batteries with materials that are not that common.
What is needed is a real breakthrough allowing a far greater range and a battery technology that uses easily obtainable materials.
It would be good to have lower weight. I am sure that across the world a lot of research is going on to make these breakthroughs as whoever gets there first would have a huge commercial advantage.
One avenue is a solid state battery. Another is a technology that does not need lithium such as sodium. It would be good to be able to top up the charge quickly too although if the range was considerable, many could charge at home quite infrequently.
There is a lot of hype around and I am not sure what the answer is. I suspect this breakthrough is not many years away.
Hmm.
MLS is doing a promotion of /P gear including the IC705, no doubt expecting many IC705s to be traded for the new Yaesu field portable transceiver next year.
One of their items is the Eco-Worthy 30A, 12V lithium battery pack for use with the IC705 out portable. I was about to blog how expensive this was. Then I checked on Amazon and the battery was £99.99 to which you have to add the charger. Overall, not a bad price from MLS with the charger if you really need a 30A battery. However, there are lower capacity batteries and chargers available from other suppliers for far less.
UPDATE 0827z Sunday: Steve G1KQH says the same capacity battery may be bought elsewhere for far less. Shop around?
We are still awaiting a breakthrough in batteries for electric cars. Lithium, used in most (all?) electric vehicle batteries is a rare earth material in short supply. These batteries are expensive and big. There is also the issue of charging.
A breakthrough may be on the way promising much better ranges, less cost, and fast charging times. Until this happens, I cannot see a tipping point when there is a really big take-up of electric cars. Imagine - far less expensive electric cars, very infrequent charging, long ranges. It will happen.
See https://www.carmagazine.co.uk/electric/solid-state-battery-ev/ .
Peter G3OJV of Waters and Stanton is downsizing and moving house. I am not sure if he is retired. He was first licenced in 1960. He used to...
