For the uninitiated, what are the risks with these batteries? Are they likely to explode?
Sodium ion is much safer. Electrolytes in it may still be flammable, but CATL says there should be no thermal runaway or spontaneous combustion like Lithium-Ion. They’re also safer to ship without the hazmat warnings in the packaging.
The Bolt batteries were randomly catching fire. Random news article about it [0].
[0] https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/15/gm-advising-some-bolt-ev-own...
Concentrated energy by any other name is a bomb. At least with gasoline, I am fairly confident if/when/where an ignition occurs. With an electronic device with embedded firmwares, I just have to hope that the failsafes are operating.