Exploring the Chemical Space: Material Innovations and Operando characterization in Sodium-Ion Batteries

Sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) have undergone rapid development in recent years and are now entering the market. The main driver for the development of SIBs is to provide a second technology for high performance energy storage alongside Li-Ion batteries (LIBs). The energy density of SIBs is close to that of LIBs, but they could be cheaper, more environmentally friendly and rely on their own more robust supply chains. In addition, SIBs could be developed to have unique properties that complement LIBs, such as fast charging or low temperature performance. While some of the promises of SIBs have been realised, others have yet to be fulfilled.

Materials development on SIBs is largely inspired by the more mature LIB technology. However, the choice of anode and cathode materials for SIBs is large and the clear winners of the development remain yet to be identified. This talk gives an overview of state-of-art SIBs and trends in the materials development.  Examples include layered oxides, co-intercalation electrodes (graphite ,  and layered sulphides), hard carbon, metals (tin, silicon ) and metal plating for anode-free cell designs with NFPP as cathode active material. The talk will also discuss the prospects of pulse charging for Na-ion batteries.