Scientists are preparing to embark on a major new project to develop a new generation of batteries that are cheaper and more sustainable than existing technologies.
Thanks to millions of euros in funding for the NaKlaR project, announced on Monday, researchers will explore ways to make sodium ion batteries more efficient.
Unlike lithium-ion batteries, which are found in everything from smartphones to electric cars, sodium-ion batteries can be made from an abundance of cheap materials.
Sodium, which can be mined from salt lakes or mines, offers the added benefits of being more stable, easier to recycle and not at risk of overheating. Their main limitation compared to lithium-ion batteries is their lower energy density, but the researchers believe they have the potential to outperform their ubiquitous counterparts.
The NaKlaR project, led by researchers from the Institute of Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Würzburg in Germany, will seek to optimize the production process of sodium ion batteries and improve their efficiency.
Researchers say that if the project is successful, the battery technology developed could begin to replace lithium-ion batteries in some electric vehicles.
Dr. Guinevere Giffin, head of an independent research group at the Julius-Maximilians-Universität (JMU) Würzburg Chair of Materials Synthesis Chemical Technology, says:
They are suitable for smaller cars used for shorter distances.
Last year, a separate team of scientists at Tokyo University of Science made a breakthrough in sodium ion batteries, achieving “unprecedented performance” in electrodes.
In the study, published in the scientific journal Advanced Energy Materials, the researchers noted that sodium ion batteries could be used in a range of commercial applications, including low-carbon footprint energy storage systems in solar and wind farms.
