Sustainable and Safe anode-free Na battery (SuSaNa)

Purpose and goal

SuSaNa project aims to develop a sustainable, safe, and high energy density Na-based batteryThe aim is to develop sutainable and safe sodium batteries, which also have high specific energy density. To achieve this, the project has been divided into three sub-goals: 1.Develop non-flammable electrolytes that hinder dendrite growth. 2.Develop batteries that are anode-free, which contributes to high power and energy density. 3.Develop the cathode material ”Prussian white” which consists of only environmentally friendly elements and is safe to use in a battery, with no risk of fires.

Expected effects and result

The project will develop a sustainable sodium battery, base on non-critical raw materials that are cheap and high performing. The battery will be anode-free, increasing the specific energy density. Recyclability will be evaluated to ensure sustainability throughout the battery life cycle. The batteries are expected to perform on par with or better than today’s lithium-ion batteries, and have a low-cost.

Planned approach and implementation

To achieve the goals, optimization of the cathode, anode and electrolyte will be done, both separately and in combination in batteries. As for the anode, it will be plated directly on the current collector in the form of sodium metal, this is considered anode-free as the anode is created during cycling of the battery. The elctrolytes will be optimized in regard to hindering dendrite growth and non-flammability. Develpoment of the cathode will be through surface coatings to increase stability.