| Work Detail |
Cheap, safe, widely available sodium could be used for battery energy storage alongside photovoltaics. The Sodium-Ion-Battery Germany (SIB:DE) Research project is investigating whether sodium-ion technology can be affordably integrated into lithium-ion battery production facilities. Sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) are considered a promising alternative to lithium-ion devices because sodium is a non-critical, inexpensive, and readily available raw material that is classified as particularly safe. The first large-scale energy storage facilities based on the technology are already operating in China. Germany’s Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Technology and Advanced Materials Research (IFAM), in Bremen, says a SIB:DE research consortium, comprised of industry representatives and academics, is studying whether sodium-ion technology can be affordably and efficiently retrofitted into lithium-ion battery production lines. |
