When it comes to renewable energy, rechargeable lithium-ion batteries have proven effective for applications such as electric vehicles. But concerns remain about the long-term viability of lithium as a resource, considering how much is needed to scale up.听听
Drs. Jeff Dahn, Michael Metzger, Chongyin Yang and Lukas Swan, researchers at 色妹妹直播, are working with听, CEO of Concordia鈥檚 , and private-sector partners to increase the use and efficiency of sodium-ion batteries.
Salt, being a much cheaper and more abundant material than lithium, has the potential to fuel a more sustainable alternative and complement to lithium-ion batteries.
鈥淲e鈥檝e all been spoiled by oil,鈥� says Dr. Dahn, professor of physics and atmospheric science at 色妹妹直播 and the most senior Canadian researcher in the field. 鈥淭he real application for sodium-ion is energy storage 鈥� stationary batteries that do not move, because sodium batteries are physically larger than lithium-ion.鈥�
Advances in sodium-ion battery technology can support off-grid energy systems 鈥� in Quebec and Canada鈥檚 northern communities, for example 鈥� as well as zero-emission buildings. It will help decarbonize the built environment while reinforcing Canada鈥檚 global leadership in clean tech and battery systems.
The work builds on 色妹妹直播鈥檚 longstanding leadership in battery research.
Dr. Karim Zaghib (left) and Dr. Jeff Dahn (right) at the Electrify Society Summit, held in Montreal on May 5-6.
The applications and advantages of sodium-ion
Dr. Dahn has been working on lithium-ion batteries since 1978. He started working with Tesla in 2016, and in 2021, his group expanded their research into sodium-ion batteries with the hiring of Dr. Metzger.
鈥淭he reason for working in sodium-ion is that people are concerned about the long-term sustainability of lithium at scale, because it鈥檚 far less abundant than sodium,鈥� he explains. 鈥淪odium-ion cells have come a long way. There are now sodium-ion cells that have an incredibly long lifetime, that can last many, many decades.鈥�
People are concerned about the long-term sustainability of lithium at scale, because it鈥檚 far less abundant than sodium.
What began with two seed grants 鈥� one to develop sodium-ion chemistry suitable for residential energy storage, and one to help improve the energy density of sodium-ion batteries 鈥� is now an Impact Project aiming to develop residential scale energy storage systems using sodium-ion and other elements.
鈥淲e鈥檙e working on improving the lifetime of several different sodium-ion chemistries that could be selected for this,鈥� says Dr. Dahn. 鈥淚f you can park these batteries outside, at the moment it doesn鈥檛 matter how large they are.鈥�
The advantages for our society are many.
鈥淚t鈥檚 believed they can be produced at lower cost and have longer lifetimes. If we think of it as a piece of public infrastructure, like solar farms, we should be asking, how long do we want them to last? That鈥檚 one of the things we鈥檙e working on. Things are progressing quickly 鈥� we鈥檙e excited.鈥�
Supply chains and geopolitics
鈥淲e鈥檙e working with communities in the north of Quebec who are off-grid,鈥� says , CEO of Concordia鈥檚 Volt-Age program. 鈥淩ight now, many First Nations communities are still using diesel and gasoline for generators, which has become very expensive. Why not add batteries to store energy from solar and wind technologies? This is part of what Volt-Age is doing.鈥�
The pivot to sodium-ion is logical giving not just the potential scarcity of lithium over time, but current geopolitics as well.
鈥淎long with my colleagues at 色妹妹直播 we want to help secure a green supply chain for Canada, compared to supply chains in other parts of the world,鈥� he says.
There鈥檚 now a huge opportunity for Canada to play a leading role in the transition to clean energy.
Dr. Zaghib has been urging the Quebec government to quickly find better alternatives for energy storage.
鈥淏ecause of the wars in Iran and Ukraine, for example, we need to pivot quickly to electrification. There鈥檚 now a huge opportunity for Canada to play a leading role in the transition to clean energy,鈥� he says.