Scientists working at University of Houston, Texas are part of an international team developing a new sodium material. The University report in Science Daily confirms that their sodium vanadium phosphate has significant advantages over other sodium-based alternatives. These added benefits include higher voltage, and greater energy capacity than earlier versions.
More About the Sodium Vanadium Phosphate Material
Macsen Labs confirms that sodium vanadium phosphate is a chemical compound of sodium, vanadium and phosphate. They describe this material as being particularly relevant to sodium batteries as a cathode material.
That’s because it can reversibly store and release sodium ions during charge and discharge cycles, and do so efficiently too.
The Houston team and their colleagues began their search for a new sodium material for cathodes, because lithium is so expensive. And moreover, the rare silvery metal ‘may soon be at risk due to geopolitical considerations’, as they put it.
They and their colleagues therefore applied their minds to developing a new sodium vanadium phosphate compound. One that they hoped would help make sodium-ion batteries more efficient, and boost their energy performance too.
Although of course their long-term goal was ‘paving the way for a more sustainable and affordable energy future’.
What the Team Achieved With Their New Sodium Material
The Houston team and their colleagues already knew that sodium is fifty-times cheaper than lithium. And that it is so abundant they could even harvest sodium from the oceans. The new material they developed increased sodium-ion battery density by 15%.
The watt-hours per kilogram also increased from 396 to 458 compared to previous sodium-ion batteries. “Sodium-ion batteries could be cheaper and easier to produce,” the Houston lead researcher explains, “helping reduce reliance on lithium and making battery technology more accessible worldwide.”
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