Sodium-ion batteries: Electrochemical properties of sodium titanate as negative electrode

Abstract

Lithium-ion technology is a well known and widely used technology. The basis of this technology is the transport of lithium ions during charging or discharging from one electrode to another, this principle is called “rocking chair”. Nowadays, this leading battery technology finds a wide range of applications ranging from mobile phones through electric vehicles up to high capacity stationary storage systems. With the growing field of applications of lithium-ion batteries, the demand arising from individual applications brings a new perspective and requirements for the lithium-ion technology. For example, the field of renewable energy, together with the use of energy produced, requires them to store large amounts of energy, because all these resources are non-dispatchable. Currently, the lithium-ion technology has a majority share in these applications, but the technology has its limitations. The main one is the lithium element itself. Lithium production has been growing very fast in the last few years and new sources of lithium ore are being sought. However, lithium production is not large enough to meet the growing demand, which leads to an increase in the price of lithium. Every renewable energy source must be supported by a high capacity energy storage system, which is environmentally friendly and cost effective. These are some, but not all of the essential characteristics required from a new generation of energy storage systems. As one of the most promising system, sodium-ion appears to eliminate the cost and environment risk and looks like a promising candidate for a large-scale renewable energy storage system.