Battery researchers from Washington State University (WSU) say they have created an “extra salty” sodium-ion battery that could deliver a much cheaper alternative to powering electric cars, smartphones and other electronic devices. One factor slowing down the switch to clean, electric mobility is the high price of the lithium-ion batteries that power them. Working out ways to make cheaper batteries that can be discharged and recharged thousands of times is high on the agendas of battery researchers around the world.
By making cheaper batteries, the price of electric vehicles would also drop and subsequently speed up the adoption of zero-emissions transport. It is expected that electric car pioneer Tesla will reveal how its research team, led by Canadian Dalhousie academic Jeff Dahn, have worked out how to make cheaper battery cells and packs at the upcoming Battery Day , that will likely now be conducted in two events – one online and one with a live audience – in coming months.
It is understood that Tesla has also applied to use cheaper, no-cobalt, lithium iron phosphate batteries made by China’s CATL in its Made-in-China Model 3, the packs for which will reportedly cost 20% less to make than the $US100/kWh needed to bring electric car prices in line with petrol and diesel cars. But the new research from WSU could, if commercialised, result in ridiculously cheap batteries, because sodium-ion negates the use of expensive materials such as lithium and cobalt, and instead use one of the most abundant materials on the planet. “This is a major development for sodium-ion batteries,” said Dr. Imre Gyuk, director of Energy Storage for the […]