Sodium-Ion Batteries: China is Leading. The U.S. is Involved. Can Sodium Replace Lithium? Pros and Cons

     Sodium-ion batteries are a competitor of lithium-ion batteries. They have some advantages over lithium but there are also disadvantages and issues to overcome before mass commercialization happens. Sodium-ion batteries are similar to lithium-ion batteries, but sodium replaces lithium as the intercalating cation. Sodium and lithium have similar chemical properties. The biggest advantage of sodium over lithium is the abundance of sodium. It can be readily extracted from seawater and is thus much cheaper to obtain than lithium. Another major advantage is that cobalt, copper, and nickel are not required for most sodium-ion batteries. Nickel is used in some, though. Instead, iron-based materials are used which are also abundant and easily obtained.

     Na+ batteries began to be developed in the 1990s. According to Wikipedia:

 

“Several companies such as HiNa and CATL in China, Faradion in the United Kingdom, Tiamat in France, Northvolt in Sweden,[5] and Natron Energy in the US, are close to achieving the commercialization of NIBs, with the aim of employing sodium layered transition metal oxides (NaxTMO2), Prussian white (a Prussian blue analogue[6]) or vanadium phosphate as cathode materials.[7]”

 

     In the 2010s interest in sodium-ion batteries resurged as the price of lithium went up. There are many types of sodium-ion batteries in development, and they have different anodic and cathodic materials and different “doping” chemicals. Aqueous versions of sodium-ion batteries, some known as saltwater batteries, are much safer than lithium-ion batteries. The table below shows comparisons between sodium-ion, lithium-ion, and lead-acid batteries.

 

 

     The biggest advantage of lithium-ion batteries over sodium-ion batteries is the higher energy density of lithium-ion batteries, nearly double. That means sodium-ion batteries have lower ranges than lithium-ion batteries. That also means that lithium-ion batteries will remain preferred for EV batteries and for powering transport. This is due to space limitations and weight limitations of powering transport. However, many other types of batteries are stationary, and, in those applications, sodium-ion technology can beat lithium-ion technology. Sodium-ion batteries offer higher operational temperature ranges, reduced fire risk, faster charging times, and longer lifecycles.

 

 

 

Cornell’s New X-Ray Imaging Technique and Implications for Understanding and Solving Sodium-Ion Battery Long-Term Durability Issues

 

     One major limiting issue with sodium-ion batteries has been long-term durability and the number of charges that can be generated. In 2022 researchers at Cornell University were able to isolate the issue by seeing into it with a new X-ray imaging technique. They revealed a mechanism that causes realignment that results in a flawed phase transformation. It is better explained below:

 

“The poor durability stems from a specific atomic reshuffling in the battery’s operation – the P2-O2 phase transition – as ions traveling through the battery disorder crystal structures and eventually break them.”

 

“The team found that as sodium ions move through the battery, the misorientation of crystal layers inside individual particles increases before the layers suddenly align just prior to the P2-O2 phase transition.”

 

     The team developed a solution by redesigning the batteries with changes to the chemistry.

 

“One solution is to modify the battery chemistry to introduce a strategic disorder to the particles just before the flawed transition phase, according to Huang.”

 

“By changing the ratios of our transition metals, in this case, nickel and manganese,” Huang said, “we can introduce a bit of disorder and potentially reduce the ordering effect we observed.”

 

     It is thought that this new X-ray imaging technique, the Cornell High Energy Synchrotron Source, can be used to image and characterize many nanoparticle-sized phenomena. The ability to see batteries at this scale can and likely will impact and improve next-generation energy storage. The imaging mechanism is known as operando resonant elastic X-ray scattering. It combines X-ray absorption spectroscopy with X-ray diffraction. This imaging technique will be very useful in understanding and optimizing batteries and electrochemistry.

 

New Projects and Commercialization

     U.S. battery company Natron Energy announced yesterday (Sept. 12, 2024) that they will invest $1.4 billion in a sodium-ion battery gigafactory. They hope to increase their product output by 40 times and employ about 1000 people. This gigafactory will be in North Carolina. They began ops at a factory in Michigan in April 2024. They plan to produce 24GW of batteries annually when at capacity. Natron currently has the only UL-listed sodium-ion batteries on the U.S. market. According to an article in Electrek:

“The company says its patented Prussian blue electrodes store and transfer sodium ions faster and with lower internal resistance than any other commercial battery on the market today. Its battery chemistry presents zero strain during charging and discharge, 10x faster cycling than traditional lithium-ion batteries, and 50,000+ cycle life. Natron’s supply chain requires zero lithium, cobalt, or nickel.”

     As mentioned, stationary batteries are a good application for sodium-ion tech. Affordable home energy storage is one potential application, The batteries would be bigger but cheaper than comparable lithium-ion home batteries.

 

China’s Sodium-Ion Battery Progress

     In a recent surprising move, China reduced its lithium mining targets. This caused U.S. lithium company stock prices to rise. Some are asking whether the growth in sodium-ion capabilities a factor is in lowering the lithium targets. China is currently building the world’s largest sodium-ion grid-scale battery energy storage system (BESS). This is the BESS initiative in Hubei province with a capacity of 50MW/100MWh. It is expected to be completed sometime in 2024. This deployment is expected to lead to more deployments as a sodium-ion battery industry emerges. It is the most mature technology that can be competitive with lithium-ion technology. Energy Storage News writes that:

“Recently published statistics from China’s National Energy Administration said that the country’s capacity of so-called “new-type energy storage” hit 31.39GW by the end of 2023. The administration said that 22.6GW was deployed in the past year alone, with lithium-ion BESS technology making up 97.4% of new capacity additions.”

     Another article in Energy Storage News just yesterday declared in the headline that energy density and cycle life are where they need to be for sodium-ion technology. It is thought to be on the cusp of full scaled up commercialization. The details were behind a pay wall, but the headline is clear enough: sodium-ion batteries are emerging as a successful technology.

 

References:

World’s largest EV battery maker cuts lithium mining targets: is the industry switching to sodium-ion batteries? Jabran Kundi. Invezz. September 11, 2024. World’s largest EV battery maker cuts lithium mining targets: is the industry switching to sodium-ion batteries? (msn.com)

Energy company announces plans for nation's first sodium-ion battery gigafactory: 'Low-cost solution to renewable power leveling'. Elijah McKee. The Cool Down. September 12, 2024. Energy company announces plans for nation's first sodium-ion battery gigafactory: 'Low-cost solution to renewable power leveling' (msn.com)

Engineers reveal cause of key sodium-ion battery flaw. Syl Kacapyr. Cornell Chronicle. February 11, 2022. Engineers reveal cause of key sodium-ion battery flaw | Cornell Chronicle

Sodium-ion battery. Wikipedia. Sodium-ion battery - Wikipedia

X-ray technique offers new view inside active batteries. Syl Kacapyr. Cornell Chronicle. December 21, 2021. X-ray technique offers new view inside active batteries | Cornell Chronicle

North Carolina is getting a $1.4B sodium-ion battery gigafactory. Michelle Lewis. Electrek.August 16, 2024. North Carolina is getting a $1.4B sodium-ion battery gigafactory | Electrek

China’s Groundbreaking 100MWh Sodium-ion BESS. Sam Krampf. Sodium Battery Hub. January 29, 2024. China's Groundbreaking 100MWh Sodium-ion BESS - SodiumBatteryHub

Sodium-ion: 100MWh BESS project to be built in China’s Hubei province in 2024. Cameron Murray. Energy Storage News. January 29, 2024. Sodium-ion 50MW/100MWh project to be built in China this year (energy-storage.news)

‘Density, cycle life now where they need to be’: Sodium-ion BESS investor TDK on technology’s state of play. Cameron Murray. Energy Storage News. September 12, 2024. Sodium-ion BESS investor TDK on technology's state of play (energy-storage.news)