More
    HomeEV ProductsBatteriesResearchers Develop Alternative to Lithium Batteries

    Researchers Develop Alternative to Lithium Batteries

    Karn Dhingra, University of Houston

    Lithium-ion batteries are currently the preferred technology to power electric vehicles, but they’re too expensive for long-duration grid-scale energy storage systems, and lithium itself is becoming more challenging to access.

    While lithium does have many advantages—high energy density and capacity to be combined with renewable energy sources to support grid-level energy storage—lithium carbonate prices are at an all-time high. Contributing to the rising cost are pandemic-related supply-chain bottlenecks, the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and increased demand from businesses. Additionally, many governments are hesitant to green light lithium mines because of the high environmental costs and the potential for human rights violations.

    As governments and industries all over the world are eager to find energy storage options to power the clean energy transition, new research conducted at the University of Houston and published in Nature Communications suggests ambient temperature solid-state sodium-sulfur battery technology as a viable alternative to lithium-based battery technology for grid-level energy storage systems.

    Yan Yao, Cullen Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and his colleagues developed a homogeneous glassy electrolyte that enables reversible sodium plating and stripping at a greater current density than previously possible.

    “The quest for new solid electrolytes for all-solid sodium batteries must concurrently be low cost, easily fabricated, and have incredible mechanical and chemical stability,” said Yao, who is also principal investigator of the Texas Center for Superconductivity at the University of Houston (TcSUH). “To date, no single sodium solid electrolyte has been able to achieve all four of these requirements at the same time.”

    The researchers found a novel form of oxysulfide glass electrolyte that has the potential to satisfy all of these requirements at the same time. A high-energy ball milling process was used to create the electrolytes at room temperature.

    “The oxysulfide glass has a distinct microstructure, resulting in a completely homogeneous glass structure,” said Ye Zhang, who works as a research associate in Yao’s group. “At the interface between sodium metal and the electrolyte, the solid electrolyte forms a self-passivating interphase that is essential for reversible plating and stripping of sodium.”

    It has proven difficult to achieve stable plating and stripping of sodium metal using a sulfide electrolyte.

    “Our study overturned this perception by establishing not only the highest critical current density among all Na-ion conducting sulfide-based solid electrolytes but also enabling high-performance ambient-temperature sodium-sulfur batteries,” Yao explained.

    “The new structural and compositional design strategies presented in this work provide a new paradigm in the development of safe, low-cost, energy-dense, and long-lifetime solid-state sodium batteries,” Zhang added.

    Related Post

    Most Popular

    Best Picks

    STM32CubeMonitor 1.7, STM32CubeMonitor-UCPD 1.3, and STM32CubeMonitor-RF 2.12, more powerful data manipulations

    Author: STMicroelectronics STM32CubeMonitor 1.7 became more flexible thanks to new UI improvements in an effort to adapt to the many use cases it must handle. For...

    Driving the Future: Exploring Innovations in the Automotive Power...

    The global automotive power electronics market is set to achieve a valuation of US$ 6 billion by 2033, advancing at 4.1% CAGR from 2023 to 2033, as...

    Empowering Karnataka’s Electronics Industry: An Insightful Conversation with CLIK...

    Karnataka, a shining star in India's technological landscape, has earned international acclaim for its thriving electronics and IT sectors. Fuelled by a legacy of...

    Aimil Ltd.: Setting the Benchmark for Instrumentation Solutions at...

    Aimil Ltd., an ISO 9001:2015 certified company with a heritage tracing back to 1932, holds a prominent position as a leading provider of cutting-edge...

    Electrify Your Future: A Thriving Career in the E-Mobility...

    In an era where sustainability and innovation reign supreme, the E-Mobility sector has emerged as the driving force behind a transformative shift in the...

    X0115ML, the smallest SCR now supports a surge peak...

    Author: STMicroelectronics The X0115ML is our first compact silicon control rectifier (SCR) for ground fault circuit interrupters (GFCIs) and arc-fault circuit interrupters (AFCIs) that can withstand a...

    Exploring the Future of Electronics: Unveiling the Power of...

    In a recent interview conducted by technology journalist Himanshu Vaibhav of eletimes.com and timesev.com, Dr. John W. Mitchell, President & CEO of IPC, discussed...

    Navigating Defense Challenges: Insights from Chris Peters, USPAE Founding...

    In a recent interview conducted by technology journalist Himanshu Vaibhav from eletimes.com and timesev.com, Mr. Chris Peters, the Founding Executive Director of the U.S....

    Driving Innovation: Cientra’s Leadership in Automotive and Telecom Technology...

    Cientra stands as a prominent leader in the realm of technology solutions. Consistently, they innovate and advance their proprietary technologies to cater to the...

    Must Read