Beyond lithium: A comprehensive use-case-analysis of sodium-ion-battery technology in battery electric vehicles

Passenger vehicle fleets must incorporate more battery electric vehicles to achieve climate neutrality goals. With the need for affordable electric vehicles to lower barriers to customer adoption, innovations in battery technology are necessary. Sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) represent an emerging technology offering potential advantages, particularly regarding battery cost reduction. Therefore, this study conducts a techno-economic analysis of SIBs in electric vehicles. For this purpose, a vehicle simulation was developed and supplemented with a cost model. Results show that SIBs demonstrate the lowest cost per kilometer compared to NMC and LFP battery chemistries, with up to 21.8 % lower costs per kilometer when switching from NMC to SIB. While vehicles with SIBs exhibit slightly lower maximum ranges than reference batteries, this difference is small. Results additionally demonstrate that implementing maximum battery capacity in the SIB configuration proves economically advantageous. This economic advantage is particularly pronounced when low-cost home charging options are available. The main disadvantage of SIB equipped electric vehicles lies in packaging constraints due to lower volumetric energy density, which limits the feasibility of vehicles with high battery capacities. According to the analysis framework, therefore, only electric vehicles with a battery capacity up to 59 kWh can be realized. Sensitivity analysis of SIB cell properties reveals the small influence of gravimetric energy density and the significant impact of specific battery costs on cost per kilometer. A comparative analysis of electric vehicles with low battery capacity using NMC and LFP cell chemistries versus maximum utilization of SIB capacity demonstrates that SIBs achieve lower costs per kilometer while enabling higher maximum range, thus presenting a promising alternative to lithium-ion batteries. A comparative analysis of electric vehicles with low battery capacity using NMC and LFP cell chemistries versus maximum utilization of SIB capacity demonstrates that SIBs achieve 1 €/100 km lower costs per kilometer while enabling 64 km higher maximum range than NMC, thus presenting a promising alternative to lithium-ion batteries. • SIBs demonstrate up to 21.8% lower costs per kilometer compared to NMC batteries. • Maximum SIB capacity configurations prove most economical. • Packaging constraints limit SIB vehicle applications to medium battery capacities. • SIB cell costs have the most significant impact on the total cost of ownership. • SIBs achieve a superior range at lower costs versus LIBs in small-capacity vehicles.