Why we need new energy storage solutions To build a sustainable future, we need better ways to store energy, especially from renewable sources like solar and wind. Lithium-ion batteries are common now, but they have limitations: lithium is rare and expensive, cobalt is hard to obtain, and their storage capacity isn’t enough. Solid-state sodium‑air (Na‑air) batteries could be a big improvement.
What makes Na‑air batteries special Abundant and cheap materials: Sodium is widespread and about 30 times cheaper than lithium.
Cobalt-free design: These batteries don’t need cobalt, simplifying supply chains.
High energy potential: Because they use oxygen from the air as part of their chemistry, they could store 5 to 10 times more energy than lithium‑ion or sodium‑ion batteries
How they work A Na‑air battery has a sodium metal anode, a porous air cathode, and an electrolyte between them.
During discharge, sodium gives up electrons and reacts with oxygen to form compounds like NaO₂ or Na₂O₂, releasing electricity in the processcicenergigune.com.
Two formation paths are possible: one where the product forms dissolved in the electrolyte (solution-mediated), and another where it forms on the surface (surface-mediated). The choice of electrolyte strongly affects this behavior
The world needs better ways to store energy to help with climate change. Right now, we mostly use lithium-ion batteries, but there's not a lot of lithium or cobalt, and they can't store a huge amount of energy.
Solid-state sodium-air batteries are a good replacement because they use sodium, which is very common and cheap. They also don't need cobalt and can store a lot more energy.
These batteries have three main parts:
A sodium metal anode (the negative part)
A porous air cathode (the positive part)
An electrolyte (the part that helps charged particles move)
One of the big problems with these batteries is that the liquid electrolyte can be unstable. Scientists are trying to fix this by using a solid electrolyte instead. A project called OXBLOLYTE, led by CIC energiGUNE, is working to create a solid membrane for this purpose.
More research is needed to fully understand and solve the problems with these batteries, but the goal is to use them for things like large-scale renewable energy storage and in different industries.