Affordable sodium-based batteries might be the future of clean and efficient energy storage.
A Breakthrough in Battery Technology
UChicago’s Pritzker Molecular Engineering and UC San Diego’s Laboratory for Energy Storage and Conversion have developed the world’s first anode-free sodium solid-state battery. This innovation promises inexpensive, fast-charging, and high-capacity batteries for Electric Vehicles and grid storage.
Anode-Free Sodium Solid-State Battery
Traditional batteries rely on an anode to store ions while charging. However, the team has removed the anode, instead storing ions on an electrochemical deposition of alkali metal directly on the current collector. This approach results in higher cell voltage, lower cell cost, and increased energy density.
“Although there have been previous sodium, solid-state, and anode-free batteries, no one has been able to successfully combine these three ideas until now,” said UC San Diego PhD candidate Grayson Deysher.
Advantages of Sodium Over Lithium
Sodium is abundant, making up about 20,000 parts per million of the Earth’s crust, compared to lithium’s 20 parts per million. This abundance makes sodium-based batteries more affordable to produce. Additionally, sodium extraction is environmentally friendlier than lithium extraction, which involves damaging industrial acids or intensive brine extraction methods.
“Global action requires working together to access critically important materials,” said Prof. Y. Shirley Meng. Sodium, found in ocean water and soda ash mining, is a more sustainable battery material.
Innovative Architecture and Future Implications
To address challenges with solid electrolytes, the team designed a current collector out of aluminum powder, a solid that flows like a liquid. This innovative design ensures good contact between the electrolyte and the current collector, enabling high-efficiency cycling. The powder is densified under high pressure during assembly, forming a solid current collector and maintaining liquid-like contact with the electrolyte.
The paper, published on July 3 in Nature Energy, demonstrates a new sodium battery architecture with stable cycling for several hundred cycles. The team’s work is a crucial step toward meeting the high demand for batteries needed to transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy. “To keep the United States running for one hour, we must produce one terawatt hour of energy,” Meng said. The goal is several hundred terawatt hours of batteries to decarbonize the economy.
Envisioning a Sustainable Energy Future
Meng and Deysher have filed a patent application for their work. Their ultimate goal is to provide a variety of clean, inexpensive battery options that store renewable energy and meet society’s needs sustainably.
Citing their work, the team hopes to inspire further research and development in sodium-based battery technology. Their innovation could drive a significant shift toward more sustainable energy solutions.
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