(232f) Enabling Sodium Batteries with Wide Ranging Temperature Operability

Lithium-ion batteries have been extensively employed in portable electronics and electric vehicles because of their high energy/power density. However, they inevitably suffer from severe energy/power losses in cold environments, especially when temperatures drop below −20 °C. Such poor low-temperature performance limits their applications for aeronautics/space missions, polar expeditions and many military and civil facilities in cold regions, in which a battery operating temperature below −40 °C is typically required. Therefore, improving the battery performance (energy density, rate capability and lifetime) at low temperatures with minimum need for ancillary thermal systems requires exploiting new battery chemistries beyond the lithium-ion batteries. Searching for a system with high electrochemical activity beyond the lithium technologies may address the challenges associated with low-temperature operation. Sodium has a lower first ionization energy than lithium, which may facilitate the electrochemical reactions in cold environments. In this talk, I will present our recent efforts to realize diverse sodium battery systems with a widely operating temperature range down to −80°C through innovative sodium electrochemistry and electrolyte engineering.