Technology
The storage battery
as an auxiliary device for renewable energy generation invites wide attention.
The lithium-ion battery that is predominantly popular in the market needs
lithium, and Japan heavily depends on imports for the supply of lithium. Sodium
exists abundantly in the sea, and it can set Japan free from importing lithium.
Two researchers of Tokyo Scientific University developed a new electrode
material that is an oxide and able to store electricity using sodium ion
instead of lithium ion in alliance with GS Yuasa.
The oxide they
developed has a lamella structure and contains nearly the same amount each of iron
and manganese. And the lamellarly-structured oxide stores electricity between
layers. The research team confirmed that it is the same as the electrode material
of a lithium-ion battery in terms of the capacity to store electricity and the speed
of charging and discharging. At this stage, they evaluated the oxide as an
electrode material. They plan to build a battery that uses the new material as
the positive electrode and a carbon material as the negative electrode, and
wish to put the new battery into practical use in five years. Their paper was published
in the British science magazine “Nature Materials” (Electronic version) in
April 30.
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