Today, most EVs use lithium-ion batteries, just like the phone in your pocket. While the battery chemistry is well-known and thoroughly tested at this point in time, the setup has weaknesses that could be addressed by alternative designs. A Volkswagen-funded Chinese automaker has a new type of battery that offers some benefits over lithium-ion batteries, namely cost and cold weather performance, but it’s unclear if we’ll see them in the United States.
JAC Motors has developed a new EV sporting a sodium-ion battery that it says has lower costs and more abundant raw materials. It’s also less dense and may not provide the same range estimates, but lower-cost EVs are what the industry needs right now.
That said, the company is owned, in part, by the Chinese government, making it unclear if anything related to JAC will make its way to North America. Yiwei, a new brand for the automaker in 2023, announced a 157-mile EV, but it’s hardly a car Americans are known to flock to, as it’s a tiny five-door hatch.
While Chinese brands and obscure battery chemistries may never become mainstream in America, this type of movement in the industry is what’s needed to drive adoption to the tipping point. EVs are entirely too expensive, and tax credit rules are confusing, making it difficult for the general car-buying public to afford an electric car and then understand how it impacts them financially going forward.
[Image: Iryna Imago via Shutterstock]
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