Citation

Tang B, Yu X, Gao Y, Bo SH, Zhou Z. Sci. Bull. (Beijing) 2022; 67(21): 2149-2153.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1016/j.scib.2022.10.014

PMID

36545988

Abstract

Sodium-ion batteries are regarded as a strong competitor in the markets of future transportation and energy storage [2]. Compared with commercialized lithium-ion batteries, earth-abundant elements (such as Na, Fe, Mn, C, and Al) are employed in sodium-ion batteries. The related raw materials are evenly distributed around the globe, with some highly concentrated in China. Many enterprises such as Faradion, CATL, HiNa Battery, NATRIUM and Tiamat have all focused their R&D efforts on sodium-ion batteries. Currently, the energy density of sodium-ion batteries is approaching 150 Wh/kg on cell-level, which is close to lithium iron phosphate batteries. The cycle life of these battery products is reported to range from 1500 to 4500 cycles. The manufacturing cost of sodium-ion batteries is theoretically low. However, their production and commercialization are still at early stage, which makes their current cost not as competitive as that of lithium-ion batteries.

To replace lithium iron phosphate batteries in the markets of energy storage and transportation, the energy density and/or cycle life of sodium-ion batteries still need to be substantially increased. Batteries used for large-scale energy storage require an energy density of larger than 145 Wh/kg based on Lithium-ion Battery Industry Standard Conditions (2021). The service life of the batteries should be longer than 25 years to be economically viable. Hence, the cycle life of the batteries should be longer than 10,000 cycles considering one charge-discharge cycle a day. In comparison, batteries for transportation need to provide more energy and power in limited space and weight, but place less stringent requirement on cycle life. In a 3-ton A-Class or compact vehicle, a battery module weighs 500-800 kg. The energy density of the cell should be larger than 180 Wh/kg to ensure a driving range of approximately 600 km (370 miles). Meanwhile, to guarantee a service life of 20 years, 1000 cycles are needed (80% capacity retention) if the vehicle is charged once a week. The charging time should ideally be less than 20 min, reaching 80% of the full capacity.

Language: en