Sodium ion energy storage breakthrough

Could this breakthrough make sodium-ion batteries cheaper and longer-lasting?

This breakthrough could make sodium-ion batteries cheaper and longer-lasting. (Representational image) Scientists at the US Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory have achieved an important advancement in making sodium-ion batteries more effective.

Are sodium ion batteries the future of energy storage?

However, existing sodium-ion batteries face fundamental limitations, including lower power output, constrained storage properties, and longer charging times, necessitating the development of next-generation energy storage materials.

Why is sodium ion a good choice for energy storage?

Peter Carlsson concludes: “Our sodium-ion technology delivers the performance required to enable energy storage with longer duration than alternative battery chemistries, at a lower cost, thereby opening new pathways to deploying renewable power generation.

What is a hybrid sodium-ion energy storage device?

The assembled full cell, comprising the newly developed anode and cathode, forms a high-performance hybrid sodium-ion energy storage device. This device surpasses the energy density of commercial lithium-ion batteries and exhibits the characteristics of supercapacitors’ power density.

What is a sodium ion battery?

In a sodium-ion battery, lithium ions are replaced with sodium ions in the battery’s cathode, and lithium salts swapped for sodium salts in the electrolyte. Sodium-ion batteries have been around for decades, but large-scale development of the technology was abandoned in favor of lithium-ion batteries. The technology is now getting a second look.

How much energy does a sodium ion battery use?

Northvolt said on Tuesday that it had now validated a sodium-ion battery at the critical level of 160 watt hours per kilogramme, an energy density close to that of the type of lithium batteries typically used in energy storage.