![]() Fraunhofer Competence Network Quantum Computing.Research Fab Microelectronics Germany (FMD).Fraunhofer Agriculture and Food Industry Alliance.Fraunhofer Segment for Defense and Security VVS.Energy Technologies and Climate Protection.Institutes and Research Establishments in Germany.Policy Papers for the 2021 federal elections.Policy recommendations and position papers.2023 Presentation of the Fraunhofer Research Awards.Declaration of Principles for the Respect of Human Rights. ![]() Fraunhofer Ethics Committee for Security-Relevant Research (REC).The cost-effectiveness of manufacturing them has also yet to be assessed but it is now important that industry realize that the material we have discovered is really interesting," concludes Fabrizio Murgia. "Because of the slightly heavier weight of these batteries, they could be used primarily to power cars. Those discoveries pave the way for easier production of sodium batteries, especially in the automotive industry. It was shown that this should be around 400 atmospheres, equivalent to the pressure under water at a depth of 4 000 meters, which can be achieved very easily with a few turns of a screw. We looked for the ideal 'force' to exert on our solid electrolyte," explains Matteo Brighi, former postdoctoral scholar in the crystallography laboratory. "To achieve that, pressure must be applied by means of screws or springs. It must therefore be contained firmly within the battery. For a battery to work, the electrolyte, whether liquid or solid, must be in intimate contact with the positive and negative electrodes of the battery. The second research project, published in Advanced Materials Interfaces, consisted of putting this material in situation. This is an energy-efficient method that is widely used in the cement industry. "By modifying the structure of its crystals, and more precisely the spatial arrangement of the atoms, we have succeeded in making it conductive, which makes it the most efficient means of transporting sodium ions currently available." To achieve this result, the research team subjected the compound to high shocks, generating high temperatures, inside a ball mill. "Originally, this material which is used in nuclear medicine is not conductive," explains Radovan Cerny. The first one, published in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, led to the development of an efficient material: sodium carbo-hydridoborate (NaCB11H12). Two recent studies conducted by the UNIGE crystallography laboratory, headed by Professor Radovan Cerny, have succeeded in solving this problem. However, the electrolytes of this type developed up to now, which are composed of hydridoborates (boron and hydrogen), have not been able to achieve the performance of lithium batteries. The solution is to design a solid electrolyte that is also non-flammable. Industry is still reluctant to embark on this less familiar technology," explains Fabrizio Murgia, a researcher in the crystallography laboratory of the UNIGE Faculty of Science.īecause sodium is heavier than lithium, its ions also move less easily in the liquid electrolyte. "The production of this type of batteries involves a different technology from that used for lithium-based ones. However, its use is still underdeveloped. This chemical element is abundant all over the earth and in the sea and is cheaper than lithium. The supply of lithium is also problematic: unevenly distributed around the globe, it is at the heart of major geopolitical issues in the same way as oil.Īn alternative is sodium battery. If it leaks, it can react violently with oxygen, posing a major hazard to users. The liquid electrolyte they contain, which allows positive ions to flow between the two electrodes of the battery, is highly flammable. However, they have two major shortcomings. Introduced to the market in the early 1990s, lithium-ion batteries (or 'li-ion' batteries) now power most of our electronic devices and electric vehicles.
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