{"id":9930,"date":"2015-05-17T22:49:04","date_gmt":"2015-05-18T05:49:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/?p=9930"},"modified":"2015-05-17T22:55:11","modified_gmt":"2015-05-18T05:55:11","slug":"salting-battery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/salting-battery\/","title":{"rendered":"Salting the Battery"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ideally, battery materials should be abundant, cheap, and safe.\u00a0 NaCl (salt) seems to manage three out of three of these, but can it manage the energy and power density of less abundant and more expensive materials such as lithium?<\/p>\n

Faradion<\/a>, an English enterprise specializing in \u201cadvanced energy storage solutions,\u201d thinks that the salt of the earth may indeed be part of the secret sauce in their new battery.\u00a0 Initial applications will probably be in large energy-storage systems associated with renewable energy, but forward-looking statements (we used to call them predictions) show the potential for lighter, smaller batteries that could compete with lithium-ion cells.<\/p>\n

\"Faradion<\/a>

Faradion foresees energy and power densities competitive with the best LiFePO4\u00a0batteries<\/p><\/div>\n

Since the introduction of new technology does not usually come from a single source, Faradion is partnered with co-funders Innovate UK, the UK\u2019s innovation agency; Williams Advanced Engineering and the University of Oxford.<\/p>\n

The group is building 3 Amp-hour prismatic cells \u201ccontaining Faradion\u2019s novel cell chemistry, and are being incorporated into battery packs by Williams.\u201d\u00a0 This will require no major changes in existing battery manufacturing lines.<\/p>\n

Faradion\u2019s chairman, Chris Wright, explains. \u00a0\u201cSodium\u2011ion does everything lithium\u2011ion does, but cheaper,\u201d he says. \u201cIf a manufacturer already has a lithium\u2011ion plant, there is no incremental capital cost because it uses the same equipment. According to Argonne National Lab\u2019s BatPaC data model, a 16kWh sodium\u2011ion pack is 30% cheaper.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Faradion<\/a>

Faradion 12-cell (3 Ah each) module with battery management system (BMS) designed by Williams Advanced Engineering<\/p><\/div>\n

In Faradion\u2019s PowerPoint presentation <\/a>on Na-ion batteries, lithium forms about 0.005 percent of the earth\u2019s crust, while sodium constitutes about 2.6 percent (the sixth most abundant element \u2013 even though it never appears naturally as an element), and can be produced from simple drying of seawater (Lewis and Clark left a drying cairn in Seaside, Oregon where they produced salt for their animals and themselves). Because of this relative availability, a carbonate form of lithium costs about $7,000 per ton, while an equivalent weight of sodium carbonate costs less than $200.\u00a0 But, sodium has an ionic radius about 1\/3 bigger than that of lithium, and because of that size cannot use inexpensive graphite as an anode in Na-ion batteries.\u00a0 Even with that limitation, material costs end up being lower overall.<\/p>\n

Again, the manufacturing end retains all the techniques used in lithium batteries.\u00a0 Best Magazine<\/em> reports<\/a>, \u201c\u2019If someone wanted to convert a line to sodium\u2011ion there is literally nothing that needs to be changed apart from the materials used,\u2019 says Chief Technology Officer Jerry Barker. \u2018The technicians running the line wouldn\u2019t notice any difference.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2019We double\u2011side coat the anode and cathode; layer the materials step\u2011by\u2011step with a separator, we electrolyte\u2011fill for the porosity in the electrodes and separator; there are two or three formation cycles; we degas; then we make the final seal.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2019We could jelly\u2011roll for 18650 cells or use a Z\u2011fold arrangement of a continuous layer of separator instead of individual stacks with a square separator, but whichever process we would choose it is exactly the same process as for lithium\u2011ion.\u2019\u201d \u00a0This ability to use existing process lines is similar to the use of existing semiconductor chip manufacturing lines by Sakti 3, and will enable quick startups and technology transfer.\u00a0 The same techniques used in their NaCl batteries will work with improved lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) batteries, for which Faradion has also developed chemistries.\u00a0 Their manufacturing techniques will lower costs for these cells, according to the company.\u00a0 Lower prices will come from the lower costs of primary materials, and the ability to use existing facilities with little or no modification.<\/p>\n

\"Test<\/a>

Test e-bike with larger-than-necessary Faradion battery modules (for ease of manufacture on prototype)<\/p><\/div>\n

Getting into a market, though, presents some difficulties.\u00a0 The firm explains that entry into the automotive market might be slowed by problems of obtaining licenses and clearing regulatory hurdles, so it\u2019s looking at starting in cargo e-bicycle power packs, and domestic solar energy storage for homes and communities.<\/p>\n

With a readily available non-volatile material, Na-ion batteries seem to have a future in battery development.\u00a0 The leaders at Faradion think they can reach energy densities that would make their batteries attractive to EV developers.\u00a0 We wish them luck.<\/p>\n