Everyone's been talking about breakthroughs for batteries for years. Until I see one on the shelf, it doesn't matter. Go make them better, and come back once they actually are!

I've even seen ceramic batteries being tested on YouTube as long as 7 YEARS ago [0], but I still can't actually buy one.

[0]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJXRyWQgOY4

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ac29 an hour ago | parent | next [-]

> Everyone's been talking about breakthroughs for batteries for years.

Lithium iron phosphate has quietly gotten price competitive with lead acid and its wildly better tech. Not particularly sexy but its having a real world impact (LFP is commonly used for solar storage among many other uses).

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konschubert 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I think CATL bringing sodium-ion to industrial scale should count as "on the shelf".

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2026/04/28/catl-secures-worlds-l...

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LoganDark 2 hours ago | parent [-]

Hmm, that is industrial-scale which I wouldn't say is something I can really buy but that is cool nonetheless!

	▲	zardo 13 minutes ago \| parent \| next [-]
		They're available. Though you probably shouldn't invest to heavily in gen1 (production) sodium-ion batteries. It's looking like they'll be obsolete pretty quick. https://battery-tech.net/battery-markets-news/gotion-unveils...
	▲	triceratops 2 hours ago \| parent \| prev \| next [-]
		> something I can really buy What are you going to use them for? Consumer batteries are already good enough IMO. Cheaper batteries in large quantities are what we need more of.
	▲	konschubert 2 hours ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		My point is that this is clearly out of the lab.

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s0a 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

been tracking this sector for years and we did hit a major inflection point in the last 12 months

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gruez 2 hours ago | parent | next [-]

What actually changed?

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DannyBee an hour ago | parent [-]

So random consumer who just bought a ton of batteries here: i don't follow the hype closely, nor am i a crazy battery dude, but i have tracked over the years the cost of doing battery backup vs generator, etc.

It's definitely the case for me (and friends of mine), that between reasonably priced batteries, inverters,etc, doing good battery backup for the house (and peak demand shaving/etc, i use a lot of power and take advantage of time of use tariffs) is now less than half the price of a generator.

Most of my friends spent 35-45k on a generator.

I will have spent <20k on batteries + inverters. It would actually be even less, but i have 600amps of split phase for the house, and 150 amps of 480v 3 phase for the shop, so i need two different kinds of inverters.

It is all literally being installed right now.

I would actually go completely off grid, but i live in a historic area and have slate roofs so can't really do solar easily ;)

As for what changed - 12 months ago this setup would have been almost double the price, just because of the availability (or lack thereof) of the right kinds of products necessary to achieve it. I know because i priced it :)

Availability here isn't in terms of stock, but literally in terms of "variety and choice of product".

For example - the availability of UL certified low cost 48v batteries in various sizes has skyrocketed in the past year. Lots of states require UL certification, assuming you are doing this in a permitted/etc way) Additionally, a lot more outdoor batteries are now available (my setup is outdoors but mostly protected).

The availability of choices in higher kVA but still residential grade inverters has also skyrocketed, etc.

As for why the price was doubled - before i would have needed 2x the number of inverters, and you really couldn't get a good 480v inverter except with high volt batteries that are wildly less available and wildly more expensive. On top of that, the batteries you could use that were UL certified and outdoor rated or could easily be done in outdoor enclosures was much lower than it is now.

	▲	phtrivier 35 minutes ago \| parent \| next [-]
		> Most of my friends spent 35-45k on a generator. Honestly curious: why do you need a generator ? And more to the point, why do "most of you friends" need one (35-45k seems like a huge investment, so it would not be some vanity purchase, right ?) Is that customary where you live, because the grid is unreliable ?
	▲	intrepideng an hour ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		I would be interested in hearing more about the system you installed, if you don't mind sharing. I'll probably be taking the plunge in a year or two.

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LoganDark 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

I would love to see one I can actually buy! Let me know once there's one I can actually buy.

I've been having this issue for years of everyone being so excited about things that I can't actually buy. I don't care! I would love to be excited too, but it's just tiring now.

I wish there were some kind of aggregator for exciting achievements that you can actually buy. I'm tired of all this premature hype!

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gosub100 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

They will be delivered as soon as fusion power plants come online to charge them.

I agree with you, I'm sick of hearing about the "developments" in batteries, nano materials, and fusion. Need an add blocker for these.