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Saline-based car batteries
The Berlin Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM) is researching alternatives to lithium-ion batteries. Sodium-ion batteries are considered promising.
Saline-based car batteries
To date, electric batteries for electric cars have been based almost exclusively on lithium-ion technology, which, despite all its advantages, also has disadvantages. Global lithium reserves are limited, mining from salt water is costly and not very environmentally friendly. Lithium batteries also require the metals cobalt and nickel for the electrodes, which are also mined under problematic conditions. Researchers currently consider sodium-ion batteries to be a particularly promising alternative. They are a “drop-in technology” and can therefore be transferred to standard battery production. They also require neither cobalt nor nickel, and sodium is readily available as a natural component of table salt.
Anode weak point
The weak point of sodium-ion batteries has so far been the material of the anode, i.e. the positive pole. This material should be able to store as many positive sodium ions as possible when charged and is therefore crucial for the efficiency of the battery. The Berlin Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM) is now looking for a suitable anode material to advance sodium-ion technology. Instead of graphite, as is the case with the slightly smaller lithium ions, so-called hard carbons have been used for sodium ions. In addition to the sodium ions, electrolyte can also be stored in the pores and passages of the disordered carbon, which reduces the storage capacity. “We therefore want to develop tailor-made composite materials that offer space for as many sodium ions as possible, but keep electrolytes away,” explains Tim-Patrick Fellinger, head of the research project and an expert in energy materials at BAM. “The challenge is to find a material that is both safe and efficient.”
Industry and science
The Helmholtz Center Berlin and the TU Berlin as well as several companies that specialize in carbon materials for batteries are involved in the research project. “The rapid exchange of knowledge with industry is important to us, which is why I am pleased about the participation,” says Fellinger. “If we are successful with our concept, it would mean a major innovation boost for sodium-ion technology as a whole.”