Higher energy density, lower environmental impact, longer lifetime, orders of magnitude shorter charging time, less flammable, cheaper production, to name just a few of the futuristic goals of dozens of battery technology research labs. But the basic research is still going on.
Lithium-ion batteries are made of materials such as cobalt and lithium, which are rare and expensive. With the growing demand for electricity storage, these materials are becoming increasingly difficult to obtain and are likely to become more expensive. In addition, lithium-based battery technology is struggling to meet the vastly increasing energy storage needs of the power grid. In contrast, sodium-ion batteries using sodium, which can be extracted from the Earth’s oceans or from the crust in abundant and sustainable quantities, could provide a viable alternative for large-scale energy storage. Unfortunately, they cannot yet store as much energy as lithium batteries.
The critical challenge is for the battery to have high energy density and excellent cycle times. Now researchers at Washington State University (WSU) and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) have developed a new sodium-ion battery that can store as much energy and operate as efficiently as some commercially available lithium-ion batteries. The new battery technology can be successfully recharged while retaining more than 80 percent of its charge after 1000 cycles.
The scientists created a layered metal oxide cathode and liquid electrolyte containing extra sodium ions, creating a saltier medium that interacted better with the cathode. The cathode design and electrolyte system allowed for a continuous flow of sodium ions, preventing the accumulation of inert surface crystals, allowing for unlimited current production.
Yuehe Lin, Professor at WSU School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, said, “Our research has revealed the fundamental relationship between the evolution of the cathode structure and the surface interaction between the electrolyte. This is the best result ever reported in experiments with layered cathode sodium-ion batteries, showing that it is a viable technology comparable to lithium-ion batteries.”
Junhua Song, the lead author of the study from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, added: “This work paves the way towards practical sodium-ion batteries, and our understanding of the fundamental process of cathode-electrolyte interactions sheds light on how we can develop cobalt-free or low-cobalt cathode materials for sodium-ion batteries, as well as other types of battery chemistry in the future.
If viable alternatives to both lithium and cobalt can be found, the sodium-ion battery could be truly competitive with lithium-ion batteries.”
Source: ACSEnergyLetters
Recent article
Electric airplane News & Articles
The Hungarian solar-powered airplane plan has hit the world press
Electric airplane News & Articles
NASA’s first electric aircraft to take off soon
Drones News & Articles
An Australian drone can plant 40,000 trees in a day
EVTOL & VTOL News & Articles
Airbus and ITA Airways jointly develop Italian urban air transport
EVTOL & VTOL News & Articles
Airbus and ITA Airways jointly develop Italian urban air transport
Air taxi News & Articles
The first air taxi airport opens in Britain
Electric airplane News & Articles
Slovenian Pipistrel becomes part of Textron’s electric aviation business
Additional aircraft News & Articles
Another aircraft: the air yacht
EVTOL & VTOL News & Articles
Testing Volocopter’s eVTOL
News & Articles Propulsion-Fuel
A solar-powered device on Mars could make rocket fuel from waste water
EVTOL & VTOL News & Articles
Suzuki promises to launch flying taxis by 2025
Drones News & Articles
Amazon drone delivery is far from taking off
EVTOL & VTOL News & Articles
CycloTech and Yamato reveal innovative cargo eVTOLconcept with CycloRotors
EVTOL & VTOL News & Articles
EHang Receives Pre-Order for 100 Units of EH216 AAVs from Indonesian Aviation Company Prestige Aviation
Drones News & Articles
A Hungarian company is developing an agricultural drone with a French partner
Additional aircraft News & Articles
A futuristic, electric rival to the rocket backpack is already in operation
EVTOL & VTOL News & Articles
FedEx puts drones to work
Additional aircraft News & Articles
British paramedics to start testing rocket backpack rescue in the summer
Air taxi News & Articles
Air Greenland acquires VX4 Air Greenlands from
Air taxi News & Articles
Japanese flying taxis now almost have a timetable
Flying Cars News & Articles
French startup to launch hydrogen-powered flying race car
Drones News & Articles
The silent spy drone designed for the Pentagon is ready
Flying Cars News & Articles
Bruno Senna joins Airspeeder as pilot and ambassador
EVTOL & VTOL News & Articles
EHang Receives Pre-order for 60 Units of Passenger-grade AAVs from AEROTREE, Malaysia’s Leading Aviation Company, under Strategic Partnership
Additional aircraft News & Articles
NASA may launch inflatable stingray drones to Venus
Drones News & Articles
The Gambit combat drone opens a new era in air warfare
Drones News & Articles
Hydraulic drone that will have a much longer range than its electric counterpart
News & Articles Propulsion-Fuel
Swiss buys solar-powered sustainable kerosene
EVTOL & VTOL News & Articles
Minor accident at Joby Aviation
News & Articles Propulsion-Fuel
Airbus tests hydrogen propulsion on its A380 prototype
EVTOL & VTOL News & Articles
CAAC Formally Adopts Special Conditions for EH216-S AAV Type Certification
EVTOL & VTOL News & Articles
A Chinese company has shown how their eVTOL can cope with the most critical part of flying
EVTOL & VTOL News & Articles
World’s first electric air taxis to be launched in Japan
News & Articles Propulsion-Fuel
Hungarian engineers develop unique parallel hybrid-electric aircraft propulsion system
Air taxi News & Articles
Startup Natilus is set to revolutionise air freight transport
Drones News & Articles
Drones go on duty at the giant Singapore seaport
News & Articles Points of interest
Hydrogen-powered, hypersonic aircraft
Flying Cars News & Articles
Why don’t we use flying cars ?
Additional aircraft News & Articles
MIT’s miniature robots fly using artificial muscles
EVTOL & VTOL News & Articles
eVTOLs could revolutionise air rescue
More articles you may be interested in...
Flying Cars News & Articles
Flying car available
Air taxi News & Articles
Airbus also gets into city transport
Drones News & Articles
Tencent is also investing in FJ Dynamics
Drones News & Articles
Coronavirus is affected and the drone industry
Drones News & Articles
One step closer to the drone postmen
Flying Cars News & Articles
Cadillac and Fiat Chrysler flying cars at the start line
Drones News & Articles
They are already sown with drones in China
Additional aircraft News & Articles
Two hybrids Cessna
Flying Cars News & Articles
They can test the first real flying car on European roads
Electric airplane News & Articles
United Airlines purchases two hundred electric passenger aircraft
Air taxi News & Articles
South Korea is already testing its air taxi control system
Electric airplane News & Articles
The Alice electric plane needs to be modified
Electric airplane News & Articles
NASA is also developing its electric aircraft
EVTOL & VTOL News & Articles
Embraer has found a partner in Scandinavia to develop its eVTOL concept
News & Articles Propulsion-Fuel
Electricity, hydrogen and green kerosene planes are coming
Drones News & Articles
Airbus manufactured a drone courier
Flying Cars News & Articles
The Chinese flying car has taken off
News & Articles Propulsion-Fuel
Swiss buys solar-powered sustainable kerosene
Drones News & Articles
Birds can teach the gliding drones of the future
Air taxi News & Articles
An air taxi rank opens in Coventry
Flying Cars News & Articles
The history of flying cars
EVTOL & VTOL News & Articles
The World’s Leading AAV Provider EHang Wins Urban Air Mobility Call from Paris Region
Drones News & Articles
Security guard drones
Drones News & Articles
State operations with drones
Drones News & Articles
I would help ambulances with a siren drone
EVTOL & VTOL News & Articles
EHang Reveals Long-Range VT-30 AAV to Expand Regional Air Mobility Coverage
EVTOL & VTOL News & Articles
Air taxis define the future
Additional aircraft News & Articles
Aeroelastically tailored wings
Drones News & Articles
China is testing military drones
Additional aircraft News & Articles
First balloon flight to the North Pole in three years