The difference between sodium batteries and lithium batteries

Sodium-ion batteries are different from lithium-ion batteries in electrochemical performance. Sodium-ion batteries perform worse in terms of energy density and cycle life, but they have advantages in economy, safety, and temperature adaptability. When the technology matures in the future, sodium-ion batteries are expected to be widely used in areas such as energy storage, electric bicycles, and low-speed electric vehicles.

There are differences in the physical and chemical properties of sodium and lithium, and therefore, their electrochemical properties are different.

The mass and radius of sodium ions are large, and their migration speed in sodium storage materials is slow, which is not conducive to the improvement of the rate performance of sodium-ion batteries. It also causes the mass/volume energy density of sodium-ion batteries to be inferior to that of lithium-ion batteries

For example, the energy density of lithium-ion batteries can reach 255Wh/kg, while the energy density of sodium-ion batteries is only 160Wh/kg. The huge gap between the two is, on the one hand, because the technology of sodium-ion batteries is not as mature as that of lithium-ion batteries. On the other hand, it is also because its properties determine that in terms of energy density, the ceiling of sodium-ion batteries will be lower than that of lithium-ion batteries.

At present, the energy density of sodium-ion batteries partially overlaps that of lithium iron phosphate batteries, but there is a large gap between the energy density of ternary lithium batteries

Under this circumstance, sodium-ion batteries require different material systems to adapt to their own physical and chemical properties and maximize the advantages of sodium ions. Therefore, there are differences in the selection of positive and negative electrode materials, electrolytes, and current collector materials.

Judging from the performance comparison between the two, sodium-ion batteries perform poorly in terms of energy density and cycle life, but they have obvious advantages in economy, safety, and temperature adaptability

Especially in terms of safety, sodium-ion batteries perform outstandingly. According to tests conducted by China Automotive Technology and Research Center Co., Ltd. (CATARC), sodium-ion batteries do not emit smoke, fire, or explosion when acupuncture is applied, and they do not catch fire or burn when subjected to short circuits, overcharge, over-discharge, extrusion and other experiments. They are safe. Significantly better than lithium-ion batteries.

At the same time, sodium-ion batteries have better thermal stability. The initial self-heating temperature of lithium-ion batteries is 165°C, while that of sodium-ion batteries reaches 260°C. In the ARC test, the maximum self-heating rate of sodium-ion batteries is significantly lower than that of lithium-ion batteries. In all current safety project tests, sodium-ion batteries have not caught fire

Sodium-ion batteries are safer than lithium-ion batteries, mainly because sodium is the next-cycle element of lithium and has more stable chemical properties, and the internal resistance of sodium-ion batteries is higher than that of lithium-ion batteries. In safety tests such as short circuits, the Produces less heat. In addition, sodium-ion batteries use aluminum foil with better stability as the negative electrode current collector, which can be completely discharged to 0V before transportation, and transportation safety is also higher.

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