A Battery Revolution in Motion

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

In 2012, the French researcher decided to take the bull by the horns and make the most of France's know-how in sodium batteries. "For lithium, all fundamental research had been conducted in Europe, especially in France," Tarascon points out. "Yet it was in Japan that the technology was transferred and brought to market, allowing Sony to launch its first lithium-ion battery in 1991. As a result, 95% of Li-ion production today takes place in Asia." It is out of the question to repeat history. The CNRS (responsible for fundamental research) and the LITEN-CEA (in charge of technology transfer) have thus joined forces with around 15 industrial players such as Renault, Saft, and Alstom to create the RS2E network dedicated to new-generation batteries. Their stated objective is to ensure research AND development, in order to bring sodium-ion batteries to market on European soil as soon as they are ready.

A global market worth $80 billion

The commercial possibilities are indeed immense. The global market for batteries should reach 80 billion dollars in 2020, twice that of today. Too large for the time being to equip portable electronic devices, sodium-ion batteries could secure a privileged position in the electric vehicle market, as well as in the storage of intermittent renewable energies, such as wind or solar power. Energy stored during the day or in windy weather could be subsequently released using batteries (or rather series of batteries) potentially the size of a house! Another possible market is that of domestic batteries, which the founder of the Tesla car, the Californian Elon Musk, launched with much publicity in April 2015. His "power wall," a mural battery meant to be installed in individual households, is intended to store the energy produced by solar panels fitted directly on the house's roof, as well as to regulate consumption by storing electricity during off-peak hours, when it is less expensive.

Solar panels, renewable energy

The storage of so-called "intermittent" renewable energy sources. Solar panels, like the ones seen here on the roof of a house in California, are one of the possible future applications of sodium-ion batteries.

"The 18650 format enables us to provide proof of concept , and compare the performance of our batteries with those of similar format that are already available on the market. However, other formats will need to be designed to meet new requirements," explains Simonin. Time is of the essence, as Toyota are working relentlessly on a prototype of a sodium-ion car battery, while the British startup Faradion, in association with Oxford University, made a first demonstration this year of an electric bicycle powered by a sodium-ion battery.

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