6 More recently, unprecedented increases in energy storage requirements – from 10 GWh in 2017 to projections between 181 GWh and 421 GWh in 2030 globally 7 – continue to exceed the supply constraints of any single existing technology. 4, 5Īlthough rechargeable sodium-based batteries were proposed before the 1970s, the high operating temperatures (∼300 ☌) of early designs hindered their application.

A wide variety of material combinations have been and are continuing to be proposed as Na-ion cathodes, anodes and electrolyte solvents, but the viability of these choices for a practical Na-ion battery remains a source of debate among Na-ion developers. The reversibility of reactions at electrolyte/electrode interfaces is critical for the efficiency and durability of secondary, i. e. Na-ion cells employ the redox potentials occurring between sodium salts and solid electrodes to capture and discharge energy electrochemically. Alongside cost and supply issues, the use of materials with lower embodied energy and higher abundance than in Li-ion batteries reduces their environmental impact of manufacture. 2 Na-ion batteries have several advantages that make them worth pursuing, and they could avoid supply constraints and cost increases as the demand for Li-ion batteries increases exponentially with the move to electrify vehicle fleets across the world. 1 In the current competition to meet the accelerating demand for energy storage technologies, sodium-ion (Na-ion) battery development lags that of lithium ion (Li-ion), Zn-Air, and redox flow batteries. The widespread adoption of renewable energy sources is complicated by inconsistent availability of wind and sun radiation, presenting a need for high volume energy storage before fossil fuel and nuclear generators can be fully replaced. Based on the observed importance of processing to battery performance outcomes, the current focus on novel materials in Na-ion research should be balanced with deeper investigation into mechanistic changes of cell components during and after production, to better inform future designs of these promising batteries. Liquid electrolyte viscosity, sequence of mixing electrode slurries, rate of drying electrodes and cycling characteristics of formation were found critical to the reported capacity of laboratory cells. Consistent process-structure-performance links have been established for typical lithium-ion (Li-ion) cells, which can guide hypotheses to test in Na-ion cells. This review summarizes the steps performed in constructing sodium ion (Na-ion) cells at research scale, highlighting parameters and techniques that are likely to impact measured cycling performance. Before the viability of a cell formulation can be assessed for implementation in commercial sodium ion batteries, processes applied in cell production should be validated and optimized.

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