Sodium-ion-based batteries and supercapacitors have been developed by a team of researchers from IIT Kharagpur. These batteries and capacitors can be used for next-generation energy storage technologies and in e-vehicles.
"Under the Materials for Energy Storage Programme and support from the Technology Mission Division (TMD) of the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, the team has used sodium iron phosphates and sodium manganese phosphates, which they synthesised to obtain Na-ion-based batteries and supercapacitors," a statement from IIT Kharagpur said, as per a report by PTI.
"The team, led by Professor Amreesh Chandra, Department of Physics, IIT Kharagpur, has researched rigorously to develop Na-ion-based energy storage technologies. The researchers have developed a large number of nanomaterials that can be rapidly charged and then integrated with e-cycles," the statement added.
"Sodium-ion batteries and supercapacitors can now compete with their counterparts — lithium-ion based energy storage devices. The combination of novel nanostructures of sodium-based oxides and carbon leads to high energy and power density devices," it said further.
Sodium-ion (Na-ion) batteries have generated interest as a possible complementary technology to lithium-ion batteries because of the natural abundance of sodium and the consequent low costs. The Na-ion-based technologies would be cheap and are expected to reduce the cost of e-cycles significantly, as mentioned by PTI.
The sodium materials are cheaper than lithium-based materials, high performing and can be scaled up to industrial-level production. A sodium-ion cell can also be discharged to zero volt, similar to a capacitor, making it a safer option in comparison to many other storage technologies, as explained in the report.
"These energy storage devices can be used easily in electric vehicles and many other applications and will eliminate our dependence on imported lithium, which is found only in a selected few countries of the world," Prof Chandra said.
IIT Kharagpur's Director, Professor VK Tewari, said, "Taking advantage of the fact that sodium-ion batteries can be charged rapidly, Dr Amreesh Chandra has integrated it with e-cycles, which is an easy, affordable option for the masses. With further development, the price of these vehicles can be brought down to the range of Rs 10,000-15,000, making them nearly 25 per cent more affordable than lithium-ion storage technologies-based e-cycles."
It has also been reported that the batteries can also help in addressing the climate mitigation issue, as disposal strategies of sodium-ion-based batteries would be simpler. The team's research on the supercapacitors was published in the Journal of Power Sources. It has been reported that a few patents are already in the pipeline for the use of these sodium-ion-based batteries in e-cycles.