Battery research is making constant progress. US scientists have now further developed the sodium-sulphur battery.
Researchers at the University of Austin have taken a step towards making the sodium-sulphur battery ready for series production. It manages without the critical raw material cobalt and also does not require lithium, which is becoming increasingly expensive in view of increasing demand. The progress that has now been reported is a new electrolyte that is intended to reliably prevent the formation of so-called dendrites during charging and discharging. In extreme cases, these metal towers can lead to a short circuit and an explosion in the energy storage device. The scientists have now published their results in the "Journal of the American Chemical Society".
Sodium and sulfur as an alternative
Cell and battery manufacturers are currently increasingly looking for alternatives to the common nickel-based lithium-ion batteries. Last but not least, it is about reducing production costs by doing without raw materials that are particularly in demand or ecologically or socially controversial. Sodium and sulfur are less problematic than lithium and cobalt in many ways.