Frontier Research in Sodium-Ion Batteries

Dear Colleagues,

The need to decrease greenhouse gas emissions to limit the effects on environmental pollution, global warming and climate change, coupled with the progressive depletion of fossil-based resources, has boosted the utilisation of clean energy sources. However, the intermittent nature of renewable sources makes the development of efficient energy storage indispensable for their full and widespread exploitation. Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) currently represent the major device for electrical energy storage. They are widely applied in portable electronic devices and are presently considered the most promising candidate to power next generation electric and hybrid vehicles.

The consequent growing consumption of lithium and its limited availability, restricted to a few countries, represent a serious concern for the large-scale commercial manufacturing of LIBs. Since sodium exhibits a similar chemistry to lithium and its resources are more abundant and better distributed, sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) potentially represent a more sustainable, cost effective and environmentally friendly alternative to LIBs in all sectors of energy storage.

The development of SIB technology requires the discovery and the investigation of new electrode materials, as well as of proper battery components (electrolytes, additives, binders, etc.) to be used in combination with them. Besides, many other challenging aspects (from the environmental sustainability of the SIB production processes to proper battery design to meet the market demands in terms of shape/bendability) require the optimisation efforts of researchers.

This Special Issue aims to depict the state of the art and to outline possible future scenarios in the field of all types of sodium-based batteries, providing important insights into scientific and practical issues in their development. Contributions from all researchers (material scientists, chemists, physicists, engineers, etc.) on the following topics are welcome.

Prof. Dr. Saveria Santangelo
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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• Sodium-ion batteries
• Sodium-air batteries
• Sodium-sulphur batteries
• New types of sodium-based batteries
• Battery components (anodes, cathodes, electrolytes, additives)
• Sustainability and environmental impact
• Safety, performance and innovative design