CATL is starting to scale up production, but they haven't been explored much until now. The thought is that they might be similar enough to lithium batteries th

CATL is starting to scale up production, but they haven't been explored much until now. The thought is that they might be similar enough to lithium batteries that they could benefit from much of the same industrial learning. But only time will tell. If lithium prices spike again, it will provide an opening for replacements. Until then, there's little pressure to move off the main path for batteries that can be used in a wider range of applications. Lithium ion's density might not be needed for grid storage, but it also doesn't pose any problems, as you point out.