The Emerging Chemistry of Sodium Ion Batteries for Electrochemical Energy Storage

TLDR

Energy storage technology is critical for portable electronics, electric vehicles, large‑scale grid storage, and renewable load‑leveling, with lithium‑ion batteries currently dominating the first two sectors. The paper aims to investigate sodium as a sustainable, cost‑effective alternative to lithium for large‑scale and renewable‑energy storage. The review evaluates the science of sodium‑ion batteries, covering material discovery, electrochemical behavior, and ion‑mobility modeling to address current scientific challenges.

Abstract

Energy storage technology has received significant attention for portable electronic devices, electric vehicle propulsion, bulk electricity storage at power stations, and load leveling of renewable sources, such as solar energy and wind power. Lithium ion batteries have dominated most of the first two applications. For the last two cases, however, moving beyond lithium batteries to the element that lies below-sodium-is a sensible step that offers sustainability and cost-effectiveness. This requires an evaluation of the science underpinning these devices, including the discovery of new materials, their electrochemistry, and an increased understanding of ion mobility based on computational methods. The Review considers some of the current scientific issues underpinning sodium ion batteries.