Headline, Innovation news, News, Piero Facchin
A NEW GENERATION OF BATTERIES TO SAVE THE COMBUSTION ENGINE
By Piero Facchin
There’s a new generation of sodium batteries for cars that could prevent the demise of gasoline engines in the automotive industry. As a solution to the lithium shortage, sodium batteries are gaining ground among electric vehicles (EVs).
This new technology could be applied to combustion and hybrid cars, as well as to power electric systems. Thanks to the abundance of sodium on the planet, these batteries would be particularly interesting for zero-emission vehicle models.
The internal combustion engine in the majority of modern cars can only convert around 30% of the energy from fuel into useful energy; (EVs), on the other hand, can store and release this energy at close to 100% efficiency.
The most efficient battery technology currently on the market is lithium-ion, but the cost of the raw materials needed to produce them – demand for which is rising rapidly – is very high. With over 84% of known lithium resources located in Argentina, Australia, Chile and China, securing raw materials for lithium-ion batteries can be difficult and costly for producers.
Between late 2020 and 2022, the price of lithium carbonate alone rose tenfold. Fortunately, batteries based on sodium ions rather than lithium ions could solve these problems, ultimately leading to more affordable EVs.
Sodium batteries are beginning to compete with some lithium-ion systems due to recent advances, particularly those using lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cathodes. Although they can’t store energy as densely as best-in-class technology, batteries containing LFP are increasingly gaining attention, as they cost 20% less.
There is still much to be done to improve the energy density of sodium-ion batteries. Perhaps the biggest drawback is that the best layered cathode oxide materials can only hold about half the amount of sodium ions as the anode, requiring additional cathode material to ensure a good balance.
As a result, sodium batteries will be heavier than lithium batteries. The future viability of sodium-ion batteries depends on whether advances in materials science will enable them to compete with lower-end lithium batteries.
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