KAIST scientists have developed a hybrid sodium-ion battery. It is cheaper and more powerful than lithium-ion batteries

Researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) have developed a high-performance hybrid sodium-ion battery. It charges quickly and delivers impressive energy density, TechRadar reports.

This prototype uses sodium (Na), a chemical element that is more than 1000 times more abundant and cheaper than lithium (Li), the main component of conventional batteries.

Typically, sodium-ion batteries are less powerful, have limited storage properties, and have long charging times. Professor Jeong Koo Kang’s new battery prototype overcomes the existing limitations of sodium-ion batteries by integrating anode materials used in traditional batteries with cathodes used in supercapacitors into a hybrid system.

The researchers used two different metal-organic bases to create an optimized synthesis of hybrid batteries, resulting in an anode material with improved kinetics and a cathode material with high capacity.

The researchers report that the fully assembled hybrid sodium-ion energy storage device surpasses the energy density of commercial lithium-ion batteries and meets the characteristics of supercapacitors.

The head of the study says that the new battery can be used in a variety of industries, including electric vehicles, smart electronics, and aerospace technology.

The results of this study were published in the international journal Energy Storage Materials.