Sodium and Sodium‐Ion Batteries: 50 Years of Research

TLDR

High Na⁺ conductivity in β‑Al₂O₃ sparked the development of sodium‑based batteries, and although lithium‑ion technology dominated after Sony’s introduction, the need for large, cost‑effective, long‑lived batteries for renewable energy has driven renewed interest in sodium‑ion systems. The article reviews five decades of sodium‑battery research and introduces the materials discussed in the special issue. The review synthesizes studies on sodium‑ion battery materials, summarizing advances in electrolytes, electrodes, and cell designs over the past fifty years. Sodium‑ion batteries are now employed in electronic devices, HEVs, and EVs.

Abstract

Abstract This paper gives an overview of the research carried out on sodium batteries in the last 50 years. The discovery of the very high Na + ion conductivity in β‐Al 2 O 3 opened the way to high‐energy batteries (sodium/sulfur and sodium/NiCl 2 ) for load leveling and electrical vehicles. Then, the liquid electrolyte batteries were considered with intercalation‐based electrodes and lithium and sodium as mobile ions. When Sony proposed the lithium‐ion batteries, most research moved to lithium systems, exhibiting a higher energy density. These are now currently used in electronic devices, hybrid electrical vehicle (HEV) and electrical vehicle (EV). The development of renewable energies, which have an intermittent character, requires very large batteries for frequency regulation and peak production shift. For these stationary applications the most important parameters are the lifetime, the power, the price, and the material availability. Since sodium ion batteries are able to satisfy these criteria, these new material families now concern a large part of the scientific community. This article gives a general introduction and an overview of the research carried out on the materials that are presented in detail, in the articles within this special issue on sodium batteries.