A promising breakthrough for the electric car sector

JAPAN – A team of scientists has discovered a new process that could spur the transition to the next generation of rechargeable batteries to double the range of current electric cars.

This scientific breakthrough helps facilitate the transition from traditional lithium-ion batteries, found in smartphones and electric cars, to solid-state sodium batteries, which are cheaper and safer.

Solid-state sodium batteries are made of more abundant materials than their lithium-ion counterparts, but the mass production process is very difficult and time-consuming.

A team from Osaka Metropolitan University in Japan claims that the newly discovered process can overcome this production hurdle, through the comprehensive synthesis of highly conductive electrolytes (a substance containing free ions that form an electrical conductive medium).

Professor Atsushi Sakoda, from Osaka Metropolitan University, said: “This newly developed process is useful for the production of almost all sodium-containing sulfide materials, including solid electrolytes and active materials for electrodes. “Compared to traditional methods, this process makes it easier to obtain materials that exhibit higher performance, so we believe it will become a mainstream process for the future development of materials for all-solid-state sodium batteries.”

The team explained that the “solid sulfide electrolyte” has the highest conductivity for sodium ions in the world (10 times higher than what is required for commercial use).

Unlike the liquid electrolytes used in lithium-ion batteries, solid electrolytes are not susceptible to exploding when dropped or mischarged.

This breakthrough could be very promising for the electric car sector, as it provides superior performance, lower cost, enhances sustainability, and significantly improves the charging capacity of electric car batteries.

Japanese automaker Toyota claims that solid-state batteries can provide a range of up to 1,200 km, more than twice the range of electric cars currently on the market.

The research was published in the scientific journal Energy Storage Materials.

Source: Independent