TOKYO: Scientists have discovered a new process that will allow next-generation rechargeable batteries to be easily supercharged. These batteries are capable of more than doubling the range of electric vehicles.
The research will help replace traditional lithium-ion batteries (found in everything from smartphones to electric vehicles) with solid-state sodium batteries that are both cheaper and safer.
Solid-state sodium batteries are made from materials that are more abundant than lithium-ion battery components, however, mass production has so far proved difficult.
The team from Japan’s Osaka Metropolitan University claims that the newly discovered process of large-scale synthesis of highly conductive electrolytes can overcome this difficulty.
The new process is useful in the production of nearly all types of sodium-containing sulfide materials (including solid electrolyte and electrode active materials), said Atsushi Skoda of the university.
These processes make it easier to obtain high-performance materials than traditional methods, he said. Therefore, scientists believe that this process will become the main method for making this material in the future.
