Humans take rechargeable batteries for ease in the era of electronics. From phones and computers to high-tech cameras, these batteries have something in common. They're all composed of lithium.
A worldwide energy shift is happening to minimize our dependency on fossil fuels. However, although this move is critical to attaining our net-zero objectives, it has caused us to increase our dependence on other finite resources, as stated by a piece of green campaign information from EuroNews.
Lithium-ion batteries (Li-ion) have recently caught the globe by storm. They are the most prevalent battery energy storage option today, accounting for over 90% of the worldwide grid market. And cells store energy effectively and for a long time. However, its most significant application presently is in electric automobiles.
Sodium-Ion Battery and Its Qualities
The bulk of electric vehicle batteries use lithium, yet its price has climbed by 900 percent through 2020. This pattern is predicted to persist. According to Spectrum News, President Joe Biden's objective of making electric cars contribute to 50% of US vehicles sold by 2030 will boost worldwide demand for lithium by a proportion of six by 2032.
Mining for lithium raises both environmental and humanitarian problems. As a result, a race to find alternative battery technology has begun. One such solution uses sodium, a common metal comprising 2.6 percent of the Earth's crust.
Faradion, a United Kingdom-based firm, has been working with these technologies since 2011. The theory of performance for a sodium-ion battery charger is precisely the same as for a lithium-ion battery, as Ruth Sayers, head of innovation of Faradion, told Newsweek.
Sodium is the sixth highest prevalent mineral in the world and can be harvested from seawater, and sodium-ion cells are between 20 and 35 percent cheaper than lithium iron phosphate cells, the batteries often used in electric vehicles today when manufacturing expenses and battery ingredients are included. Sayers also emphasized that the cost advantages are due to lower-priced raw ingredients.
Sodium batteries are additionally more stable at greater temperatures, making them safer and more secure to travel than lithium batteries. The risks of moving lithium-ion batteries have been widely established. Because the cells can be discharged at less than 30% charge relative to their capacity, freight cells must be airfreight delivered at a significant cost.
Stock image of a person charging an electric car. Sodium could offer an alternative to lithium-based electric car batteries.
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Lithium Mining Disadvantages
There are additional ethical considerations to take into account. Sayers explained that the world's leading lithium output is either brine from Chile and other South American countries or mining from the Congo. As Sayers added, many illegal mining irregularities, as part of the supply chain, in Congo, may involve child labor in the mining industry.
Lithium mining consumes a lot of energy and resources, particularly a lot of groundwater; to create one ton of lithium enough for around 90 automobiles, one must need about 200 million gallons of water, and those water supplies will be at a premium as demand for lithium rises.
Although most lithium mining occurs in South America and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, China accounts for more than 70% of battery output. As a result, sodium batteries would allow electric car supply chains in the West to become more localized. The fundamental limitation of this method is that sodium is heavier than lithium.
Because sodium cells are tougher than lithium batteries at the molecular scale, the sodium cell will be somewhat bigger than a lithium battery for the same power density. Although the technology remains in its early stages, prototype sodium storage devices are roughly comparable to regular lithium-ion batteries.
The next-generation sodium-ion battery technology from Faradion will have a rated specific energy of more than 190 [watt-hours per kilogram]. Despite these scaling issues, the potential of sodium-ion batteries appears promising, as Good Word News reports.
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