next few years advt moreover sodiumion chemistry presents certain benefits over lithiumion that makes them more favourable for certain applications their temperature tolerance is wider the low temperature subzero performance is especially better than lithiumion batteries even in the case of high temperature sodium performs better as is mentioned in the earlier article the onground experience in india shows that the performance of the lithiumion batteries in india is lower than what they get in china because of our higher temperature conditionssodium batteries can be discharged deeper and can even be stored and transported at zero voltage state this is a great safety advantage for transportation also their power density and especially fast charging durability is in general better than lithium batteriesapplicationsowing to these attributes sodiumion batteries are preferable for many applications within stationary applications broadly there are two categories behind the meter btm and in front of the meter ftm applications btm covers solar rooftop commercial ups backup telecom tower backup diesel generator minimization etc ftm covers grid scale renewable energy integration grid supply and demand management frequency regulation etc in both btm and ftm sodiumion batteries can be very suitable within mobility applications due to lower energy density of sodiumion batteries only commercial vehicles such as bus 3wheeler and commercial delivery vehicles were thought to be suitable in 2 and 4wheelers the weight and volume requirements are stringent so having high energy density of the battery is crucial however with the recent improvements in performance catl and byd have announced plans to launch passenger 4wheelers also with sodiumion batteries jac ev seagull etc with these advancements now 2wheelers can also come under the radar of sodiumion batteriesbeyond this there are other stationery and mobility applications in defence marine and aviation sectors each of these has additional constraints about safety weightvolume availability and dependency on china hence by strategically selecting the right applications for sodium and lithium batteries the steep demand for lithium can be shaved offwhile lithiumion cell prices in china are much lowusd 80100kwh the landed price in india is quite broad usd 100300kwh this is based on the cell chemistry lfp nmc lto capacity 3 ah to 100 ah quality automotive grade vs low grade and order volume the raw material price of sodiumion batteries will be at around 3050 lower than lithiumion so at the same volume of production sodiumion batteries are expected to reach usd 70kwh at this price level all questions about commercial viability of clean energy and clean transportation will vanishcost advantagewhat matters to a final user is not just the cost of the cell but the cost of the entire battery system this is where sodiumion battery scores even better for example better temperature tolerance of sodiumbattery chemistry can reduce the cost and complexity of battery cooling systems by 20 faster charging capability can help in reducing the installed pack size by availing multiple charging opportunities during the day this is particularly relevant for intracity public transportation buses 3wheelers as well