The sodium battery is fully charged in seconds, and researchers have reported a major breakthrough

Research into future-oriented sodium-ion batteries has been ongoing for some time in order to improve them further and create a more environmentally friendly alternative to lithium-ion batteries. When it comes to charging time, storage capacity, and performance, sodium-ion batteries were previously at a disadvantage compared to common lithium-ion batteries. But South Korean researchers have now made significant progress, So that sodium ion batteries no longer have these disadvantages.

The only advantages over lithium-ion batteries

Today's electric vehicles almost exclusively use lithium-ion batteries. However, this requires many rare minerals that are only available in limited quantities and constitute a heavy burden on the environment during their production and disposal. Sodium-ion batteries can help with this, as sodium is about 500 times more common on Earth than lithium. In addition, the prices of electric cars will decrease significantly due to new batteries.

South Korean researchers from the KAIST Institute have developed a sodium-ion battery Which no longer have disadvantages compared to lithium-ion batteries. To do this, the researchers used a hybrid design that combines a sodium battery with the materials used in supercapacitors. According to the researchers, this allowed high storage capacity as well as fast charging and discharging.

By developing two basic organometallic systems, researchers have solved some of the problems that have hampered sodium-ion batteries in the past. For example, the slow charging speed of battery anodes and the very low storage capacity of supercapacitor cathodes.

Breakthrough for researchers

The battery cell created later in the laboratory has a higher energy density than previous lithium-ion batteries and the energy density of a supercapacitor. This means that the electric car battery will have a greater range than previous lithium-ion batteries and can also be fully charged in seconds. But the discharge speed is also better and more output power can be accessed if necessary, which will also be suitable for powerful electric motors.

It is no coincidence that researchers talk about a breakthrough. And not just with sodium-ion batteries, but in general with current electricity storage systems. Researchers believe that the new technology is used in all types of electronic devices and homes. However, it is not entirely clear when this battery will be ready for serial production and can go into mass production. The researchers have not yet provided any information about this matter.