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Sodium Battery Update

Sodium Battery Update

Researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) have developed a high-power hybrid sodium-ion battery that can be charged in seconds. 

Sodium is considered nearly 1000 times more abundant than lithium. Therefore, sodium-ion electrochemical energy storage devices are more appealing than traditional lithium-ion electrochemical energy storage.

Led by Professor Jeung Ku Kang from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, the research team integrated anode materials typically used in batteries with cathodes suitable for supercapacitors.

The combination helped the battery to achieve high storage capacities and rapid charge-discharge rates. The study indicates that the battery can be a viable next-generation alternative to lithium-ion batteries.                                                                                    

Hybrid sodium-ion energy storage device

Comprising the newly developed anode and cathode, the assembled full cell forms a high-performance hybrid sodium-ion energy storage device, which crosses the energy density of commercial lithium-ion batteries available in the market. According to researchers, the device exhibits the characteristics of supercapacitors’ power density.

“The development of a hybrid battery with high energy and high power density requires an improvement to the slow energy storage rate of battery-type anodes as well as the enhancement of the relatively low capacity of supercapacitor-type cathode materials,” said the team in a statement.                                                                                                                                                        

Sodium batteries can fulfill an increasing demand

Salt batteries: https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/technology/scientists-make-breakthrough-in-production-of-salt-based-battery-technology-this-process-makes-it-easier/ar-AA1nF2YR?ocid=msedgntp&pc=U531&cvid=f94d02a42bd34c7dab303c7464fd9352&ei=15

The battery may fulfill an increasing demand for low-cost electrochemical energy storage devices with high energy density for prolonged operation on a single charge and fast-chargeable power density to meet a wide range of applications ranging from mobile electronic devices through electric vehicles (EVs) to large-scale grid systems.

Currently, available Sodium-ion energy storage systems are poor in rechargeability as they have a low power density while providing a relatively high energy density. Currently, two types of sodium storage systems are available, sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) and sodium-ion capacitors (SICs). Therefore, researchers focused on sodium-ion hybrid energy storage (SIHES) cells. 

SIHES can use the different potential windows of capacitor-type cathodes and battery-type anodes. It has attracted a lot of attention because this storage system, in principle, could simultaneously allow high energy density and fast-rechargeable power density.

According to researchers, the SIHES can achieve an energy density of 247 Wh/kg and a power density of 34,748 W/kg. Professor Kang said that the research represents a breakthrough in overcoming the current limitations of energy storage systems. He anticipates broader applications across various electronic devices, including electric vehicles.

It’s likely to be useful for rapid charging applications ranging from electric vehicles to smart electronic devices and aerospace technologies.

Co-authored by KAIST doctoral candidates Jong Hui Choi and Dong Won Kim, the study was published in the journal Energy Storage Materials.

Story by Adrien BERNARD

A significant advancement in battery technology could soon revolutionize smartphone and electric vehicle technologies. Researchers have developed a new sodium-based battery capable of recharging in seconds, providing a promising alternative to current lithium-ion batteries.

🔋 This battery recharges in seconds: the revolution for smartphones and electric vehicles?© Provided by Techno-Science

Sodium batteries aren’t new and have historically had many drawbacks. Scientists have combined materials for anodes from conventional batteries with cathodes from supercapacitors, creating a new type of sodium-ion battery distinguished by high capacity and rapid recharge capabilities.

Sodium, being far more abundant than lithium, makes these new batteries potentially less expensive and more sustainable. However, previous sodium-ion batteries had lower performance in terms of power and energy storage capacity compared to lithium-ion batteries and required longer charging times, limiting their applications.

In this new study, researchers aimed to overcome these shortcomings. They developed an innovative type of anode with ultrafine iron sulfide particles integrated within sulfur-doped carbon and graphene, thereby enhancing conductivity and energy storage. For the cathode, they used a “zeolitic imidazolate framework” (ZIF), a porous crystalline structure that combines metallic ions with organic molecules, thus improving the battery’s charge and discharge speed.

The complete prototype achieved an energy storage capacity of 247 watt-hours per kilogram (Wh/kg) and could deliver power up to 34,748 watts per kilogram (W/kg), far surpassing existing technology. Additionally, the battery maintained its efficiency and performance over more than 5,000 charge and discharge cycles, suggesting enhanced longevity critical for applications such as energy storage on the electrical grid and electric vehicles.

Source: Energy Storage Materials

From Carbon Dioxide to Methanol

From Carbon Dioxide to Methanol

Researchers at the University of Michigan have developed a catalyst known as cobalt phthalocyanine that converts carbon dioxide—a significant driver of climate change—into renewable fuels such as methanol.

Published in the journal ACS Catalysis, U-M researchers studied using cobalt phthalocyanine as a catalyst to convert carbon dioxide into methanol through multiple reaction steps. The first step converts carbon dioxide (CO2) into carbon monoxide (CO) and the second step converts the CO into methanol.

This approach presents a sustainable method for reducing greenhouse gas emissions while offering an avenue to produce clean energy.

Scientists have long tried to find a way to convert CO2 into fuels like methanol chemically. Methanol could potentially be used to power vehicles in a more environmentally friendly way.

While the conversion of CO2 to methanol has been industrialized, achieving this transformation on a large scale through electrochemical processes has proven to be a significant challenge.

“Our approach is unique because we can bring and bridge all this knowledge that each field has on the same problem. We have scientists and engineers all within one team, brainstorming and gathering insights to design and understand the system in the best way possible,” said co-primary author Kevin Rivera-Cruz, who recently received a doctorate in chemistry from U-M.e g advanced computational modeling, the researchers calculated that cobalt phthalocyanine binds CO2 over three times more tightly than it binds carbon monoxide. They also confirmed this through experiments measuring reaction rates when varying the amounts of CO2 and CO.

The researchers showed that the difference in binding affinity has to do with how the catalyst’s electrons interact with the CO2 and CO molecules. To solve this issue, the researchers suggest redesigning the cobalt phthalocyanine catalyst to strengthen how it interacts with CO and lessen how strongly it binds to CO2.

Resolving this roadblock could pave the way for using catalysts like cobalt phthalocyanine to efficiently convert CO2 waste into methanol fuel on a large scale.

More information: Libo Yao et al, Electrochemical CO2 Reduction to Methanol by Cobalt Phthalocyanine: Quantifying CO2 and CO Binding Strengths and Their Influence on Methanol Production, ACS Catalysis (2023). 

Long Life fast charging EV Battery

New battery technology could speed up the time it takes to charge electric vehicles, scientists say. Sodium-ion batteries have emerged as a possible replacement for the current lithium-ion batteries on the market.

Scientists have developed a new coin-shaped sodium-ion battery with higher capacity and rapid charging rates, and the technology apparently has the potential to power anything from phones to cars.

Currently, it can take anywhere from 20 minutes to more than an hour to charge an electric vehicle in the US. The new batteries could charge EVs in seconds.

Sodium-ion is more widely available and cheaper than lithium, but it weighs three time as much.

The Swedish manufacturer Northvolt announced a breakthrough in the development of sodium-ion batteries earlier this year. The potential of sodium-ion was known, but the batteries on the market had a lower lower power output and storage capacity.

In a study published in the journal Energy Storage Materials, researchers from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory said they had found a way to solve those issues.

In the study, they said that they developed a new framework and improved the battery. They claim that the new battery can achieve an energy storage capacity of 247 watt-hours per kilogram and deliver power at 34,748 watts per kilogram.

US manufacturers are eyeing sodium-ion technology. Natron Energy just started commercial-sale operations at its sodium-ion battery plant in Michigan this week, and battery maker Clarios recently announced a partnership with Swedish company Altiris.

There are over 2.4 million electric vehicles currently registered in the US, with the market share expected to increase by up to 11 percent this year.

Samsung SDI, the Korean giant’s battery biz, promised EV batteries that can charge to 80 percent capacity in a mere nine minutes, plus models that can perform at that level for 20 years.…

The ultra-fast charging battery will enter production in 2026. The long-lived product will start rolling off factory floors in 2029.

Samsung SDI teased the tech in March of this year. At the 37th Electric Vehicle Symposium & Exposition (EVS37) taking place this week in Seoul, it is also displaying an anode-free all-solid-state battery (ASB) with a 900-watt-hour per liter density, which it eyes to start mass-producing in 2027.

Solid-state batteries are considered a significant step up from lithium-ion due to their higher energy density, faster-charging capabilities and perceived safety as ASBs are less likely to catch fire.

Samsung’s already tried to reduce the likelihood its kit catches fire, a live issue as Li-Ion-powered appliances and e-bikes spark domestic blazes that have regulators worried that low-quality products increase risks.

The Korean champ’s approach is to use vents that exhaust heat and gas so that if its batteries are involved in an accident or fire the chances of thermal runaway are reduced.

“New products from the company such as 46-phi batteries [a measure of battery diameter] are also part of the exhibition, along with a cell-to-pack (CTP) concept that increases energy density yet decreases cost,” stated Samsung.

The chaebol’s battery unit pitched the battery advancements as “super-gap” technology that will “pioneer the future global EV market.”

Japanese automaker Toyota has several battery undertakings, including in joint ventures with Panasonic. The company has claimed it is ready to roll out its solid-state-batteries with a range of 745 miles (1200 km) and charge time of 10 minutes by 2025.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/shopping/samsung-shows-off-battery-tech-it-says-will-see-you-gone-in-nine-minutes/ar-AA1nCqrT?ocid=msedgntp&pc=U531&cvid=85a081b430c14398a45dcb8d165768c2&ei=27