From electric trucks, buses, ships and industrial machinery to stationary energy storage for the electricity grid: sodium-ion batteries could play an important role in making large-scale energy storage more sustainable and less dependent on scarce raw materials. This week, the Dutch Research Council (NWO) has granted the NANEXBAT research consortium a subsidy of ¤8 million to explore materials innovations for next-generation sodium-ion batteries. The UT-led consortium will start a combination of experimental and computational studies on how these materials can be improved and made suitable for real-world applications.
Sodium-ion batteries are a promising alternative to today’s lithium-ion batteries, especially for applications where size and weight are less critical but sustainability, cost and material availability are key.
Broad consortium of battery material experts
This makes sodium-ion batteries particularly attractive for heavy-duty mobility, such as trucks, buses, ships and logistics equipment, as well as for stationary energy storage in industry and the electricity grid. The consortium consists of a close collaboration with 8 industrial partners on raw materials production ( Nobian , Euro Support , Bor-Lyte , Clean Fuels ) and heavy-duty mobility ( DAF , VDL , Damen , Hyster-Yale ).
The University of Twente will coordinate the five-year project NANEXBAT. It involves battery material scientists at the Battery Centre Twente under the supervision of Mark Huijben, Andre ten Elshof and Payam Kaghazchi. Besides the 8 industrial partners, the research consortium consists of battery materials experts from 5 universities ( University of Twente , Delft University of Technology , University of Groningen , Utrecht University , and Eindhoven University of Technology ).
Growthfund programme ’Material Independence and Circular Batteries’
The NANEXBAT fundamental research project is part of the large national Growthfund programme ’ Material Independence and Circular Batteries ’ and will pave the way towards more efficient next-generation battery technologies, which are commercially viable and contribute to a pathway towards a circular and sustainable society. Sodium-ion batteries hold great promise to offer a viable solution for reducing dependence on critical materials and developing battery technologies with improved circularity.
