| Developers: | Contemporary Amperex Technology Ltd (CATL) |
| Date of the premiere of the system: | July 2021 |
| Branches: | Electrical and microelectronics |
| Technology: | UPS - Uninterruptible Power Supplies |
2021: Announcement of the first sodium-ion batteries for electric vehicles
At the end of July 2021, the Chinese company CATL introduced the first commercial sample of a sodium-ion battery for electric vehicles. According to the manufacturer, they can be produced in parallel with lithium-ion, without retrofitting conveyors. Although such batteries do not yet boast outstanding characteristics, CATL has managed to solve the main problem by creating materials for the cathode and anode with the necessary kinetic properties.
The sodium ion battery works by analogy with lithium ion: ions move between the cathode and the anode when the device is charged and discharged. Salt appears to be a very promising, cheap and affordable substitute for lithium deficiency, but the use of sodium ions is associated with a number of problems. These ions are larger in size and tend to form impurities that reduce the life of the battery, therefore they are more demanding on the structural stability and kinetic properties of the cathode and anode materials.
To solve these problems, CATL developers used a porous material based on solid carbon, which provides fast movement of sodium ions and a high resource. In addition, they changed the structure of a material called Prussian white (ferrocyanide of iron), solving the problem of capacity loss. So far, the energy density of the sodium-ion battery is small: only 160 watt-hours per kilogram versus 285 watt-hours per kilogram on average for lithium-ion cells. But the developers claim that the battery can be charged to 80% capacity in 15 minutes at room temperature and kept at 90% capacity at -20 ° C.
CATL states that thanks to these characteristics, new sodium-ion batteries can be used to operate electric vehicles in cold climate regions. In addition, along with the sodium battery, the company also produced a combination AB battery, which includes both sodium-ion and lithium-ion cells.[1]
Notes
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