Suitability of sodium-ion-based battery pack as a cold-start alternative to a conventional 12 V/15 Ah lead-acid starter battery

This study presents an experimental evaluation of a sodium-ion battery pack constructed from 18650-format cells compared to a conventional lead-acid starting, lighting, and ignition (SLI) battery. With sodium-ion technology emerging as a promising alternative to lithium-ion and lead-acid chemistries, offering advantages in resource availability, cost-effectiveness, and cold-temperature performance, its potential for various applications warrants detailed investigation. A 4s11p sodium-ion SLI battery pack was assembled for this purpose and subjected to performance testing in a climate chamber across a temperature range from + 25 to − 15 °C. The results aim to assess the cold-weather reliability and operational viability of sodium-ion cells relative to traditional battery solutions.