French researchers have developed the first sodium-ion battery in the industrial standard “18650” format, paving the way for a potential sea-change in electric vehicle applications.
Scientists have developed a prototype that retains the standard cylindrical 1.8cm-diameter, 6.5cm-high shape and size, and can facilitate technology transfer to existing production units.
The team claims the prototypes have reached 2,000 cycles without degradation, however they do not believe it will be commercially viable for at least another five years, with performance still only on a par with lithium-ion batteries of the early 1990s.
The sodium-ion cells in the prototypes have an energy density of 90 Wh/kg, and move in liquid from one electrode to the other, although the scientists are keeping specific materials a trade secret for now.
“The 18650 format enables us to provide proof of concept, and compare the performance of our batteries with those of similar format that are already available on the market,” said Loïc Simonin, a collaborating researcher at LITEN (Le Laboratoire d’Innovation pour les Technologies des Energies Nouvelles).
“However, other formats will need to be designed to meet new requirements.”
Once reliability is optimised and improved, commercialisation could well be the next step.
The researchers are based at the Reseau sur le stockage electrochimique de l’energie (RS2E), a network of various researchers working together at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique.