{"id":15458,"date":"2021-11-08T12:03:23","date_gmt":"2021-11-08T12:03:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/?p=15458"},"modified":"2022-01-07T13:32:14","modified_gmt":"2022-01-07T13:32:14","slug":"pursuing-cheaper-environmentally-friendly-batteries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/pursuing-cheaper-environmentally-friendly-batteries\/15458\/","title":{"rendered":"Pursuing cheaper and more environmentally friendly batteries"},"content":{"rendered":"
As the world is being electrified, we have become increasingly dependent on more environmentally friendly batteries. The abundance of new technology designed in recent decades would not have been possible without them, with the majority of ship traffic and car fleet being increasingly powered by electricity. Batteries could be the next big Norwegian industrial adventure, according to the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise (NHO).<\/a><\/p>\n At least four huge battery factories are being planned in Norway, with more than thirty residing in Europe. The main products being manufactured are Lithium-ion batteries, a technology that first originated in 1991, and which has been a critical prerequisite for all the small electronics and the electrics cars that we are increasingly starting to rely on.<\/p>\n The size of the batteries is important when manufacturing them. “In the consumer market, there is a continuous pursuit of making batteries smaller and more efficient,” explained Vebj\u00f8rn Bakken, director of UiO:Energy<\/a>. Associate Professor Alexey Koposov at the Department of Chemistry added, \u201cYou want to have space in your car. You want the car to carry not only the battery, but you and your family as well.\u201d<\/p>\n Research is being conducted worldwide to produce lithium batteries that are even safer and more environmentally friendly. Many are looking for other solutions and new battery technologies<\/a> that could become the new future market leading battery. They have much more in mind than gadgets and everyday electronics for their uses.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat’s coming now are really big battery systems connected to the electrical grid. Size and weight are then no longer critical. The important factor is as much capacity as possible,” said Bakken. This is closely related to the focus on renewable energy from the sun, wind and other sources. “Sun and wind give intermittent energy production depending on time, season and the weather. This leads to an increasing need for energy storage,” he added.<\/p>\n “I think the battery research is one of the fields developing the fastest right now. Particularly when it comes down to chemistry,” said Koposov. Despite chemistry being a very large part of creating a battery, there are other external factors that could be argued as just as, if not more important.<\/p>\n The manufacturing of batteries relies on dedicated materials but obtaining them includes processes other than just chemistry. While the battery is a system that is based on chemical principles, it also takes great engineering work to build them and make them safe.<\/p>\n There are concerns that there will eventually be a shortage of lithium, which will prevent the production of lithium batteries. “What can at least happen is that the price of lithium goes up because huge factories are being built all over Europe,” explained Koposov.<\/p>\n Another dilemma that has received a lot of attention is the use of cobalt in electric car batteries. Much of the cobalt originates from the Democratic Republic of Congo, and this extraction has been criticised by both human rights and environmental organisations.<\/p>\n Therefore, research is being conducted to replace lithium with sodium or other elements. “Sodium is a material we can easily obtain in Europe. The desire to make batteries more sustainable is one of the driving forces behind this development,” added Koposov.<\/p>\n Sodium is located just below lithium in the column on the far left on the periodic table. That means they have properties similar to each other. However it is not as simple as removing lithium and using sodium instead.<\/p>\n “The anode in lithium-ion batteries is almost always made of graphite, but it doesn’t work at all for sodium,” said Doctoral Research Fellow Anders Brennhagen.<\/p>\n In a lithium battery, the lithium ions settle between the layers of the crystal structure of graphite without any major changes in the structure itself. Brennhagen works with sodium batteries and must use materials other than graphite in the anode. The challenge is that these materials change their structure when receiving the ions.<\/p>\n “My materials can absorb much more sodium ions and therefore have a much higher capacity, but since there are such large changes in the structure of the material, it is difficult to get the capacity to be stable over many cycles of charging and discharging,” said Brennhagen.<\/p>\n In his PhD, he hopes to get closer to a solution. If he succeeds, the rewards can be excellent.<\/p>\n \u201cSodium-ion batteries can become a more environmentally friendly alternative to lithium-ion batteries. They can also become cheaper and more sustainable,” said Brennhagen.<\/p>\n Sodium is a more easily obtainable material is it is found everywhere, and the Earth\u2019s crust contains over 1000 times more sodium that lithium. Because of this you would no longer remain dependent on the few countries that have an abundance of lithium. Sodium will probably not replace lithium, but sodium batteries may have their advantages in certain applications.<\/p>\n \u201cLithium-ion batteries will in all likelihood always have higher energy density than sodium-ion batteries, but you may not always need the very best,\u201d explained Brennhagen. \u201cSometimes price has a lot more to say, and then sodium-ion batteries can be better. For now, lithium-ion batteries are so cheap, and that technology is well developed, so it’s easier to go for it”.<\/p>\n At the same time, the sodium battery technology has come far enough to be ready if the opportunity arises. “If anyone wants to make an industry with sodium-ion batteries now, it can be done. There are already prototypes of well-functioning sodium-ion batteries, yet it requires a lot of investment in both material and battery production for it to be able to compete with lithium-ion batteries,” said Brennhagen. “The materials I work with are still at an early stage of research. It will at least take ten years before it is on the market,” Brennhagen explained.<\/p>\nCreating batteries is not all about chemistry<\/h3>\n
Lithium shortage fears<\/h3>\n
From lithium to sodium<\/h3>\n
Cheaper and more environmentally friendly batteries<\/h3>\n
Calcium \u2013 double charge<\/h3>\n