Researchers at the University of Chicago, led by Professor Y. Shirley Meng, have created the first anode-free sodium solid-state battery. Developed in collaboration with the University of California San Diego, this breakthrough aims to provide inexpensive, fast-charging, high-capacity batteries.
The Innovation in Battery Technology
By successfully combining sodium, solid-state, and anode-free technologies, the Laboratory for Energy Storage and Conversion (LESC) has overcome several challenges. Grayson Deysher, a UC San Diego PhD candidate and first author of the research paper, highlights that no team has merged these three concepts until now.
Sustainable Energy Advancements
Published in Nature Energy, this paper introduces a new sodium battery architecture. The team designed a battery with stable cycling for hundreds of cycles by removing the anode and using abundant sodium instead of lithium. This change makes the battery cheaper and more environmentally friendly.
The Benefits of Sodium Over Lithium
Lithium, used extensively in batteries, is scarce and expensive. It makes up only 20 parts per million of the Earth’s crust, while sodium is much more abundant at 20,000 parts per million. The limited availability of lithium and the concentration of its deposits in just a few countries have led to high prices. Comparatively, sodium is widely available and environmentally friendly.
Professor Meng explains that lithium extraction involves industrial acids or brine extraction, which is harmful to the environment. On the other hand, sodium, commonly found in ocean water, has a lower environmental impact.
Innovative Battery Architecture
Creating a sodium battery with energy density comparable to lithium required inventing a new architecture. Traditional batteries use an anode to store ions during charging. This new battery eliminates the anode and deposits ions directly on the current collector, leading to lower costs and higher energy density.
Deysher points out that achieving good contact between the electrolyte and current collector is crucial. While liquid electrolytes can flow easily, they create a solid electrolyte interphase that degrades battery performance over time.
Novel Approaches and Future Prospects
The team used aluminum powder to form a current collector that surrounds the electrolyte. This innovative approach combines low cost, high efficiency, and advanced solid-state battery technology.
Deysher hopes this research will stimulate further development in sodium battery technology, potentially surpassing lithium batteries in some areas. Meng envisions a future with various clean, affordable battery options to store renewable energy, meeting society’s needs efficiently.
Meng and Deysher have filed a patent through UC San Diego’s Office of Innovation and Commercialization to protect their groundbreaking work.
Disclaimer:
The content presented on this page has not been manually verified by our team. While we strive to ensure accuracy, we cannot guarantee the validity, completeness, or timeliness of the information provided. Always consult with appropriate professionals or sources before making any decisions based on this content.
The image is randomly selected and doesn’t necessarily represent the company or the news above.
