“It’s an fascinating cell idea,” says Jürgen Janek, a professor on the Institute of Bodily Chemistry on the College of Giessen in Germany, who was not concerned within the analysis. There’s been earlier analysis on sodium-air batteries up to now, Janek says, however utilizing this type of chemistry in a gasoline cell as an alternative is new.
“One of many important points with one of these cell idea is the protection situation,” Janek says. Sodium metallic reacts very strongly with water. (You could have seen movies the place blocks of sodium metallic get thrown right into a lake, to dramatic impact). Requested about this situation, Chiang says the design of the cell ensures that water produced throughout reactions is constantly eliminated, so there’s not sufficient round to gasoline dangerous reactions. The strong electrolyte, a ceramic materials, additionally helps stop reactions between water and sodium, Chiang provides.
One other query is what occurs to one of many cell’s merchandise, sodium hydroxide. Generally often called lye, it is an industrial chemical, utilized in merchandise like liquid drain-cleaning answer. One of many researchers’ ideas is to dilute the product and launch it into the ambiance or ocean, the place it could react with carbon dioxide, capturing it in a secure kind and stopping it from contributing to international warming. There are teams pursuing subject trials utilizing this actual chemical for ocean-based carbon elimination, although some have been met with controversy. The researchers additionally laid out the potential for a closed system, the place the chemical might be collected and bought as a by-product.
There are financial components working in favor of sodium-based programs, although it could take some work to construct up the required provide chains. At this time, sodium metallic isn’t produced at very excessive volumes. Nevertheless, it may be made out of sodium chloride (desk salt), which is extremely low cost. And it was produced extra abundantly up to now, because it was used within the course of of creating leaded gasoline. So there’s a precedent for a bigger provide chain, and it’s potential that scaling up manufacturing of sodium metallic would make it low cost sufficient to make use of in gasoline cell programs, Chiang says.
Chiang has cofounded an organization referred to as Propel Aero to commercialize the analysis. The venture acquired funding from ARPA-E’s Propel-1K program, which goals to develop new types of high-power power storage for plane, trains, and ships.
The following step is to proceed analysis to enhance the cells’ efficiency and power density, and to start out designing small-scale programs. One potential early utility is drones. “We’d prefer to make one thing fly inside the subsequent yr,” Chiang says.
“If individuals don’t discover it loopy, I’ll be fairly upset,” Chiang says. “As a result of if an concept doesn’t sound loopy firstly, it most likely isn’t as revolutionary as you suppose. Fortuitously, most individuals suppose I’m loopy on this one.”
