FWIW: lithium-ion was also expensive chemistry. If the promise matches the reality, supply chains will eventually realign to the point where consumer applications become feasible.
You've got to balance so many factors to commercially release a battery: safety, durability, reliability, weight, energy density, cost. You can build cheap batteries, they just have some terrible characteristics.
That was CATL's other announcement, two years ago: sodium-ion batteries. Now being incorporated into a model of car by Chery, one of the second tier Chinese EV manufacturers, and another by BYD, the biggest.
1. https://www.notebookcheck.net/First-electric-cars-with-BYD-a...