Chennai: Researchers in Presidency College have come up with new technology to make all solid-state sodium-ion batteries that can reduce the cost of electric vehicles and decrease the risk of them catching fire.
They found that using sodium perborate, as a solid electrolyte overcomes the limitations of traditional liquid electrolytes, including the prevention of dendrite formation, which is identified as one of the major causes of fires in electric vehicles. Researchers patented the technology producing sodium-ion coin cell batteries using sodium perborate.
"Sodium is more abundant, safer and less expensive than lithium. However, there are safety concerns with liquid electrolytes because of their unavoidable adverse reactions," said B Muthukumaran from the department of chemistry, Presidency College, who is the principal investigator of the project.
"Solid electrolytes are regarded as one of the most promising solutions owing to their strong durability, high energy density and remarkable cycling stability," he added.
The proposed solid-state battery consists of two electrodes and a solid electrolyte to generate power. "Sodium perborate is cost-effective, environmentally safe and biodegradable, offering a safer alternative to conventional solid electrolytes," Muthukumaran added.
Besides safety, this sodium-ion battery technology would offer longer battery life and flexibility, researchers said. They stated that the coin-cell batteries demonstrated unprecedented performance metrics. The successful fabrication and testing of these batteries in devices open up next-generation energy storage with immediate applications spanning portable electronics, electric vehicles and grid-scale energy systems.
"Batteries of electric vehicles are changed every three or four years. The cost is very high. The solid-state sodium-ion batteries will last longer and cost only a few thousand rupees. One kg of sodium perborate costs only 150 and is easily available," he said.
Muthukumaran has secured 38 lakh under the Chief Minister's Research Grant for 2023-24.