Charging future EVs could take seconds with new sodium-ion battery tech

Researchers have developed a new coin-type sodium-based battery that can charge rapidly “in seconds” and could potentially power everything from smartphones to electric vehicles (EVs) in the future.

By combining anode materials used in conventional batteries with cathodes from supercapacitors — batteries that can store and deliver energy at very high rates –– the scientists created a new type of sodium-ion battery that offers both high capacity and rapid-charging capabilities. 

They were looking for a way to overcome the current limitations of sodium-ion energy storage — touted as an alternative to lithium-ion batteries — and described their findings in a study published March 29 in the journal Energy Storage Materials.

The new sodium-ion hybrid fuel cells could serve as a "viable next-generation alternative to lithium-ion batteries," the researchers said in a joint statement, with applications ranging from laptops and mobile devices to electric vehicles and aerospace technologies. 

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Sodium is significantly more abundant than lithium –– up to 1,000 times more, the researchers said –– making sodium-ion batteries potentially cheaper and more sustainable to produce than the lithium-ion batteries currently used to power most EVs and consumer electronics. 

However, existing sodium-ion batteries offer lower power output and storage capacity than lithium-ion batteries and take longer to charge, thus limiting their potential applications. In the new study, the researchers sought a way to tackle the shortcomings of the Technology.