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by jacobp100 1039 days ago
I also saw that one being incredibly useful for EVs, as you could make the car weigh less and so wouldn’t need as high kWh storage
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Nice for expensive sports cars where cost doesn't matter. But everything else competes on cost, not weight. These high density batteries are going to be very premium priced for quite some time to come. Plenty of customers willing to pay that premium. High volume production of that things is likely some time away.

Catl also produces some sodium ion batteries. They have even less density than LFP but contain no lithium or other valuable materials. For mass production, cost is king. And with faster charging speeds, range becomes less important.

I thought lithium wasn't especially valuable, especially compared to the other things that go into a battery. I'd buy that sodium is cheaper though, with the amount of sodium salts that are knocking around the economy.
The price of lithium fluctuates a bit. Currently around 37 dollars per kg. A kg of salt is a lot cheaper. Just check in your local supermarket.