> I wish we had better fire protection against these batteries.
Even better, let's work out chemistries that don't have the same level of risk. We already have LFP, which is an order of magnitude less likely to combust. IMO we really shouldn't be using traditional lithium ion batteries for things like grid storage or home batteries where weight isn't a prime consideration. I wouldn't want one in my house, I'd use LFP instead. Or even better, LTO, though it's not as cost effective. If I have to sleep above it...
It is popular, but it does not have the most well-known battery company in the world standing behind it. Volume EVs in China use LFP, which has the effect of making those cells common and then available cheaply in the rest of the world. So DIYers love them, and there are lots of commercial products that rely on LFP.
Tesla doesn't have any incentive at this point to use LFP, they're selling every Powerwall they can make. The people who are buying them aren't price sensitive. The folks who are, buy LFP instead.
Elon Musk has recently stated that they are going to make a big shift to LFP batteries[1]. On the Tesla's quarterly earnings call last week, he stated that iron based batteries will likely eventually be used for almost all battery applications due to the low cost. Iron is cheap and sourced all over the globe. He said airplanes and ships will probably have to still use Nickel and/or Cobalt (but corrected himself later saying only airplanes will probably need them).
I was doing some research the other day on state-of-the-art and noticed LFP was gaining some ground on power density, getting some love from Tesla is a big win. Future looks bright.
Even better, let's work out chemistries that don't have the same level of risk. We already have LFP, which is an order of magnitude less likely to combust. IMO we really shouldn't be using traditional lithium ion batteries for things like grid storage or home batteries where weight isn't a prime consideration. I wouldn't want one in my house, I'd use LFP instead. Or even better, LTO, though it's not as cost effective. If I have to sleep above it...