In the new energy vehicle industry, in addition to the development of power battery technology, energy storage technologies such as lithium batteries, sodium batteries, and solid-state batteries are also topics of great concern. With the rapid development of new energy vehicles, the energy storage market has also grown rapidly, attracting many new energy companies and capital influx, and technological progress in the field of energy storage has also brought huge benefits to related companies.
So what are the differences between lithium batteries, sodium batteries, and solid-state batteries? What are their respective advantages? What are the future development prospects? Today we will learn about the differences between lithium batteries, sodium batteries, and solid-state batteries.
First, let’s take a look at lithium-ion batteries. Lithium-ion batteries are currently the most widely used energy storage technology, which is mainly composed of positive and negative electrode materials, electrolyte solutions, diaphragms, and electrolyte additives.
Lithium battery
Lithium battery is a solid or liquid battery with lithium metal or lithium alloy as negative electrode material and organic electrolyte. Due to its advantages such as high energy density, high specific capacity, high self-discharge rate and long cycle life, it has been widely used in the field of new energy vehicles.
The advantage of lithium battery is high energy density. Under the same volume, it can store twice as much electricity as lead-acid battery; but the disadvantage of lithium battery is also obvious. It cannot withstand too high temperature. When the temperature exceeds 50℃, it will explode; when the temperature exceeds 80℃, it will spontaneously combust. In addition, the charging and discharging efficiency of lithium battery is low at low temperature, so new energy vehicles used in low temperature environment need to be equipped with special charging equipment.
At present, the mainstream lithium batteries used in the field of electric vehicles are mainly ternary lithium batteries, lithium manganate batteries, etc. Among them, ternary lithium batteries have advantages in energy density and cycle life, and are currently the most mature and widely used type of power battery. However, due to the high price of its raw materials, the cost has also increased accordingly, which has restricted its development to a certain extent.
Sodium battery
Sodium-ion battery is a new type of energy storage technology. Compared with lithium battery, its raw material cost is lower, its safety is better, and its energy density is higher. The working principle of sodium-ion battery is similar to that of lithium-ion battery, but the difference is that sodium-ion battery uses a more stable positive electrode material-Prussian blue, which is also the most promising positive and negative electrode material at present.
Prussian blue is mainly used in the field of lithium battery, and sodium-ion battery is mainly used in the field of energy storage. Its advantages are low cost, high energy density, good safety, long cycle life, etc., and can be used in portable electronic products, electric bicycles and other fields. However, in actual application, due to the poor stability of the positive electrode material of sodium-ion battery, the positive and negative electrode materials will be separated, so the rate performance and cycle life of sodium-ion battery still need to be further improved. At present, sodium-ion battery is still in the stage of technical development and testing, and has not yet entered the stage of large-scale production.
Solid-state battery
Solid-state battery is a new type of battery. Compared with traditional lithium batteries, it has the advantages of high energy density, high safety, long life and strong adaptability to high and low temperatures.
At present, solid-state battery technology is constantly advancing. With the popularization of new energy vehicles, solid-state batteries will also usher in a new round of development opportunities. As a kind of energy storage battery, solid-state battery can improve the energy density of lithium-ion batteries, while extending the service life of batteries, and will not produce obvious safety hazards. In addition, solid-state batteries can also reduce production costs and carbon emissions.
From the perspective of development prospects, solid-state lithium-ion battery technology is the most likely energy storage technology to be widely used in the next few years, but it still faces some challenges in the process of technological development.
On the one hand, the technical threshold is high; on the other hand, the material cost is high.
According to relevant data, more than 70% of solid-state lithium-ion battery technology research and development companies in the world are currently conducting related research and development work. I believe that with the continuous efforts of scientific researchers, more energy storage technologies will be available in the near future.
Solid electrolyte
Solid-state battery refers to a lithium-ion battery using solid electrolyte, and its core material is solid electrolyte. Compared with liquid lithium-ion batteries, solid-state batteries have the advantages of high safety, high energy density, and high stability. However, due to the immaturity of the preparation method of solid electrolytes, there are still many challenges in its practical application.
At present, there are mainly the following difficulties in solid-state batteries:
- First, the cost of materials used in the preparation process is high;
- Second, the preparation process is complicated, and special processing of electrode materials and electrolytes is required, resulting in high production costs of batteries;
- Third, in practical applications, electrode materials need to be modified to avoid reaction with electrolytes;
- Fourth, due to the different densities of solid electrolytes and liquid electrolytes, additional additives need to be added to the electrodes;
- Fifth, the electrodes of solid electrolytes react with the electrolyte, which may cause problems such as decreased electrochemical performance.
Sodium-sulfur battery
Sodium battery, also known as “second-generation sodium battery”, is a new type of secondary battery. Compared with lithium-ion batteries, the advantages of sodium-ion batteries are mainly reflected in the following two aspects:
1) Sodium ions have higher mass and volume energy density. Compared with lithium-ion batteries, the mass energy density of sodium per kilogram is as high as 250 Wh/kg, and the volume energy density can reach more than 400 Wh/L;
2) Sodium ions have a lower potential, and theoretically their specific capacity can reach 2140 mAh/g. This allows sodium batteries to replace lithium batteries in many aspects, such as high-rate discharge, high-rate charge and discharge, and long-term cycle use.
However, due to the limited and uneven distribution of sodium resources, its application in the field of energy storage is limited. However, with the advancement of science and technology and the development of new energy technologies, it is believed that sodium-sulfur batteries, a new type of secondary battery, will be more widely used in the field of new energy vehicles.
Sodium-ion battery
Sodium-ion battery (abbreviated as sodium battery) has a similar working principle to lithium-ion battery, but its working environment and temperature range are closer to those of lithium-ion battery. Sodium-ion battery is a new type of battery, and its principle is similar to that of lithium battery. The difference is that sodium-ion battery uses sodium as the positive electrode material to store and release sodium ions, while lithium-ion battery uses lithium as the positive electrode material to store and release lithium ions. In addition, sodium-ion battery also has the advantages of low cost, good low-temperature performance, and abundant resources.
Since sodium resources are widely distributed in the earth’s crust and have abundant reserves, it has a good future development prospect. However, due to the relatively active chemical properties of sodium, it is easy to have side reactions during the cycle process, resulting in problems such as shortened battery cycle life and capacity loss. Therefore, the development of sodium batteries still needs to focus on solving problems such as material stability and cycle life. At present, many companies have conducted research on sodium-ion batteries, such as Zhongke Haina, Zhongke Haina, Guoxuan High-tech, etc. However, due to the high cost and poor safety of sodium electricity, there is no commercial application at present.
Future development prospects: Lithium batteries, sodium batteries, and solid-state batteries are all popular technologies in the current energy storage field. Among them, sodium batteries are a new type of secondary battery with advantages such as low price, good safety, and abundant reserves. In the future, with the development of sodium resources and related technologies, sodium batteries will usher in rapid development.
Solid-state batteries are a new type of battery technology that can achieve more complete charge and discharge cycle performance and achieve good results in safety and energy density. At present, solid-state battery technology is steadily advancing. I believe that with the continuous advancement of technology, it will be more widely used in the future.
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