The University of Hyderabad (UoH) collaborates with the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Hyderabad to develop electrode materials that will have the potential to fast-charge-discharge energy storage applications for sodium-ion batteries. As per the statement released by the university, the research work has been carried out by PhD Scholar Arya Sohan and the Principal Investigator is Dr -Ing Pratap Kollu, a faculty member at the Centre for Advanced Studies in Electronics Science and Technology (CASEST), School of Physics at UoH.
Their work has been published in the Journal of Energy Storage with an impressive Impact factor of 9.30. Additionally, the University of Hyderabad project grant from the Institute of Eminence has fully funded this research. The laboratory in the Centre for Advanced Studies and Electronics Science and Technology, School of Physics at the University of Hyderabad (UoH), is working on developing electrode materials for sodium-ion batteries.
Emphasising the advantages of sodium batteries, it said, "In recent years, interest in sodium-ion batteries has been high, primarily driven by their significant economic advantages. The utilisation of sodium-ion batteries is increasingly gaining traction within energy storage and electric mobility domains. These power sources offer enhanced energy efficiency, rapid charging capabilities, resilience to extreme temperatures, and safeguards against overheating or thermal runaway incidents."
"Compared to other commonly used batteries, these batteries exhibit reduced toxicity due to their lack of reliance on lithium, cobalt, copper, or nickel, which have the potential to emit environmentally harmful gases in the event of a fire. Moreover, they exhibit a high degree of adaptability across various applications," it added.
A drawback identified by the institute includes, "...their energy density, which refers to the quantity of energy stored relative to the volume of the battery. The density of sodium batteries remains relatively low, ranging from 140 Wh/Kg to 160 Wh/kg, in contrast to the higher density of lithium-ion batteries, which typically falls within the range of 180 Wh/Kg to 250 Wh/Kg."
