Chemistry, cells, packs and gigafactories.
Lithium-ion, LFP, NMC, sodium-ion, solid-state, flow, iron-air and beyond — with commercial reality checks.
Batteries now sit at the centre of both transport and power systems. This hub covers cell chemistry, manufacturing, costs and supply chains, from lithium iron phosphate and nickel-rich cells to sodium-ion, solid-state and iron-air designs.
We focus on what changes real-world economics: energy density, cycle life, safety, raw-material exposure and cost per kilowatt-hour. Announcements about breakthrough chemistries are common; commercial production at scale is rare. Briefs here try to separate lab results from factory output and explain which trade-offs each chemistry makes. The guides on LFP versus NMC, iron-air batteries and round-trip efficiency are a good place to start.
Iron-air batteries store energy by rusting and un-rusting iron. Learn how they work, how they compare with lithium-ion, and where multi-day storage fits on the grid.
LFP vs NMC: compare lithium iron phosphate and nickel manganese cobalt batteries on energy density, cycle life, safety, cost and where each is used in EVs and grid storage.
Sodium-ion batteries replace lithium with abundant sodium. How they work, how they compare with lithium-ion and LFP, and where they are being used.
LFP chemistries account for the large majority of storage capacity contracted this year. Sodium-ion pilot deployments remain small but are visible in multiple ISOs.