In the 1870 novel 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, writer Jules Verne imagined a submarine powered by sodium batteries. That idea has resurfaced, as several battery companies have begun manufacturing sodium-ion batteries as greener alternatives to lithium-ion batteries. Sodium is just below lithium in the periodic table of the elements, meaning their chemical behaviors are very similar. That chemical kinship allows sodium-ion batteries to “ride the coattails” of lithium-ion batteries in terms of design and fabrication techniques. Recent demonstrations of sodium-ion batteries both for power tools and for automobiles have highlighted the rapid progress in the technology.
“Sodium-ion technology is really a clone of lithium-ion technology,” says Jean-Marie Tarascon from the College of France, who has worked for 35 years on battery technologies. Development of sodium-ion batteries has lagged behind that of lithium-ion batteries, but interest in sodium has grown in the past decade as a result of environmental concerns over the mining and shipping of lithium and its associated materials. Sodium is 1000 times more abundant than lithium, potentially reducing supply chains and lowering battery costs, Tarascon says. Other advantages of sodium-ion batteries include high power, fast charging, and low-temperature operation [1].
But there are also downsides to sodium-ion batteries, the top one being a lower energy density than their lithium-ion counterparts. Energy density has a direct bearing on the driving range of an electric vehicle, which means that sodium-powered cars may have trouble appealing to consumers who want a large vehicle that can go long distances. Lower energy density also affects the overall environmental impact of sodium-ion technology because more batteries are needed to supply the same amount of energy as the corresponding lithium-ion technology.
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