Researchers in Canada have just unveiled a new solid-state sodium battery design that could potentially lead to cheaper, safer, and more sustainable energy storage systems.
Developed at Western University in Ontario, the breakthrough replaces lithium (Li), which is costly, flammable, and increasingly scarce, with sodium (Na), one of the most abundant elements on Earth.
Managed by Yang Zhao, PhD, a professor at the department of mechanical and materials engineering at the university, the project moved solid-state sodium battery technology closer to powering electric vehicles and large renewable-energy grids.
“Sodium is much more abundant and cheaper, and if we can make it work in a solid-state form of the electrolyte, it could be cheaper, safer, and long-lasting,” Zhao explained.
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