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Take the salt, heat it, run current through it. Sodium vapor comes out.

Not exactly "easy", but self-contained. From an environmental point of view sodium is absolutely brilliant compared to lithium. Everyone with access to sea water can produce almost 400 g of sodium from 1kg of common table salt. No lithium mining needed.

More info: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downs_cell

NaCl is not an applicable source material for these batteries. Na₂CO₃ is going to be the it, for better or for worse.

Mostly because mining trona (actually Na3H(CO3)2*2H2O) is cheaper than the Solvay process. It's not a matter of possibility, it's just the path of least resistance.

Maybe we could even convert existing mcdonalds locations into battery-swap and electric vehicle charging stations