“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 prior to now, Janek says, however utilizing this kind of chemistry in a gas cell as a substitute is new.
“One of many crucial points with any such cell idea is the protection situation,” Janek says. Sodium steel reacts very strongly with water. (You will have seen movies the place blocks of sodium steel 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 repeatedly eliminated, so there’s not sufficient round to gas dangerous reactions. The stable electrolyte, a ceramic materials, additionally helps forestall reactions between water and sodium, Chiang provides.
One other query is what occurs to one of many cell’s merchandise, sodium hydroxide. Generally generally known as lye, it is an industrial chemical, utilized in merchandise like liquid drain-cleaning answer. One of many researchers’ strategies is to dilute the product and launch it into the environment or ocean, the place it will react with carbon dioxide, capturing it in a secure kind and stopping it from contributing to world warming. There are teams pursuing area trials utilizing this precise 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 may very well be collected and offered as a by-product.
There are financial components working in favor of sodium-based programs, although it will take some work to construct up the required provide chains. At this time, sodium steel isn’t produced at very excessive volumes. Nevertheless, it may be constituted of sodium chloride (desk salt), which is extremely low cost. And it was produced extra abundantly prior to now, because it was used within the course of of constructing leaded gasoline. So there’s a precedent for a bigger provide chain, and it’s doable that scaling up manufacturing of sodium steel would make it low cost sufficient to make use of in gas cell programs, Chiang says.
Chiang has cofounded an organization referred to as Propel Aero to commercialize the analysis. The undertaking 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 software is drones. “We’d prefer to make one thing fly throughout 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 thought doesn’t sound loopy initially, it in all probability isn’t as revolutionary as you suppose. Happily, most individuals suppose I’m loopy on this one.”
