via E & T Magazine
Bristol-led team uses nanomaterials made from seaweed to create a strong battery separator, paving the way for greener and more efficient energy storage.
Sodium-metal batteries (SMBs) are one of the most promising high-energy and low-cost energy storage systems for the next-generation of large-scale applications. However, one of the major impediments to the development of SMBs is uncontrolled dendrite growth, which penetrate the battery’s separator and result in short-circuiting.
Building on previous work at the University of Bristol and in collaboration with Imperial College and University College London, the team has succeeded in making a separator from cellulose nanomaterials derived from brown seaweed.
The research, published in Advanced Materials, describes how fibres containing these seaweed-derived nanomaterials not only stop crystals from the sodium electrodes penetrating the separator, they also improve the performance of the batteries.
“The aim of a separator is to separate the functioning parts of a battery (the plus and the minus ends) and allow free transport of the charge. We have shown that seaweed-based materials can make the separator very strong and prevent it being punctured by metal structures made from sodium. It also allows for greater storage capacity and efficiency, increasing the lifetime of the batteries – something which is key to powering devices such as mobile phones for much longer,” said Jing Wang, first author and PhD student in the Bristol Composites Institute (BCI). Dr Amaka Onyianta, also from the BCI, who created the cellulose nanomaterials, co-authored the research.
“I was delighted to see that these nanomaterials are able to strengthen the separator materials and enhance our capability to move towards sodium-based batteries. This means we wouldn’t have to rely on scarce materials such as lithium, which is often mined unethically and uses a great deal of natural resources, such as water, to extract it.
“This work really demonstrates that greener forms of energy storage are possible, without being destructive to the environment in their production,” said Professor Steve Eichhorn who led the research at the Bristol Composites Institute.
The next challenge is to upscale production of these materials and to supplant current lithium-based technology.
Original Article: Seaweed-based battery powers confidence in sustainable energy storage
More from: University of Bristol | Imperial College London | University College London
The Latest Updates from Bing News
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Sodium-metal batteries
- A new generation of batteries may bolster the EU’s green ambitions
By Anthony KingA green industrial future for Europe may depend on an element that is part of a household staple: table salt.Dr John Abou-Rjeily, a researcher at Tiamat Energy in France, is using ...
- Explained: How do these sodium-ion batteries charge within seconds
Scientists at KAIST have developed a groundbreaking sodium-ion battery that charges within seconds, revolutionizing energy storage. By combining anode and cathode materials, they created a hybrid ...
- CATL approaches automakers about sodium-based batteries
CATL, the major Chinese EV battery manufacturer, has opened a dialogue with a dozen automotive producers regarding the next generation of sodium-based ...
- New Progress in Sodium-ion Battery Electrolyte Research
On May 7th, the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences announced new progress in the research of sodium-ion battery electrolytes. The sodium vanadium ...
- CATL Explores Tech Licensing With Automakers As It Focuses On Sodium-Ion Batteries
Chinese power battery giant Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Ltd (CATL) has reportedly initiated discussions with approximately twelve car manufacturers regarding ...
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Large-scale energy storage
- Energy Vault to deploy 200MW battery storage systems in Australia
ACEN Australia secured a 20-year energy service agreement from the NSW government's renewable energy and storage auction to support the project. Energy Vault chairman and ...
- As energy storage surges, second Portland flow battery startup emerges
All the parts are coming together. Can they come together fast enough for the kind of timescale that a startup needs to survive? On the other hand, here we are, six years after we first started and we ...
- Texas energy storage dash brings 1 GW batteries within sight
Developers are installing larger batteries in Texas, with or without solar, capitalising on cost savings to maximise power revenues.
- Energy Vault, ACEN Australia Announce Agreement for 400 MWh of Battery Energy Storage Deployments
Each storage solution is supported by the Company’s hardware ... With more than 1 gigawatt (GW) capacity of large scale renewable energy generation in construction and operations, and more than 13GW ...
- A new (old) energy storage solution?
IT has become an accepted notion that if a substantial portion of our electricity supply is to be sourced from renewable energy (RE), some large-scale forms of energy storage are going to be necessary ...