Sodium batteries are similar to lithium ones, except they use sodium ions and not lithium ions as charge carriers. However, battery makers have largely passed them over in favor of lithium because of the latter’s chemistry density. Now a new, superior sodium-ion battery from Institute of Physics under Chinese Academy of Sciences may set this perception aside.
More Benefits From a Superior Sodium-Ion Battery
Sodium is an inexpensive material compared to lithium and it is earth-abundant too. Moreover, sodium batteries have a high safety rating. That’s because the highly-reactive metal performs favorably in more thermally stable electrolytes.
However, there is little interest in sodium chemistry commercially, because of lithium-ion batteries’ superior performance. That perception may be changing following a research report by scientists at China’s Institute of Physics. That’s because they have produced a new, superior sodium-ion battery using aqueous electrolyte with ultra-high salt concentration.
Recent Sodium Battery Research in United Kingdom
This Produces Higher Voltage According to Advanced Materials
Shine news channel says the concentrated electrolyte produces up to 3.3 volts, compared to the sodium-ion industry standard of 2. This improves the competitiveness of a chemistry some scientists believe is the ideal static energy storage.
Moreover, this superior sodium-ion battery design has high ionic capability thanks to the electrodes interacting weakly. This effectively suppresses the dissolution of their materials during the charging / discharging cycle. As a consequence of this, the scientists report ‘remarkable electric performance’ according to Shine. This includes 90% capacity retained after 1,600 hours charging and discharging.
More rapid progress in this direction could see sodium-ion replacing lithium-ion in consumer electronics and long-range electric vehicles. Its lower-flammability and greater safety factors could make this the energy-storage medium of choice. This would include for laptops, phones, power tools, drones, and electric scooters too.
Related
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Sodium-Ion versus Lithium-Ion What’s the Score?
Preview Image: Silvery White Metallic Sodium
Video Share Link: https://youtu.be/szCOH4_uwL4
1 Comment
Nice article, thanks!
I have not found too many locals interested in salt water batteries. Have perhaps come across ‘local’ (Im in Cape Town) distributors?