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					</table><p>Pune-headquartered <a href="https://www.kpit.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">KPIT Technologies</a>, an autonomous software integration partner for the automotive and mobility sector, has introduced its sodium (Na)-ion battery technology with the aim of alleviating lithium dependency in India’s energy storage sector.</p>
<p>The technology is anticipated to decrease reliance on imported core battery materials and boasts various applications within the automotive and mobility realms, particularly for electric two and three-wheelers and commercial vehicles.</p>
<p>The company said the development places them among a select group of globally recognized sustainability-focused organizations that have developed sodium-ion-based battery technology.</p>
<p>It also exhibits potential applications in stationary uses, including Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) backups and grid storage, as well as in the marine and defense industries.</p>
<p>Key features of the sodium-ion battery technology include an extended lifespan with 80% capacity retention for 3,000-6,000 cycles; multiple variants with distinct performance characteristics and energy density ranging from 100-170 Wh/Kg; faster charging compared to common lithium batteries; superior sub-zero temperature tolerance; high-temperature tolerance with minimal thermal management; enhanced safety; and a substantial reduction in ownership costs leading to increased vehicle uptime and income.</p>
<p>KPIT said the achievement underscores their successful collaboration with the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (<a href="https://www.iiserpune.ac.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">IISER Pune</a>). Dr. Satishchandra Ogale, leading the IISER Pune team, played a pivotal role in advancing material synthesis, characterization, and battery testing.</p>
<p>Ravi Pandit, Co-founder and Chairman of KPIT Technologies said, “Sustainability is at the heart of KPIT’s vision. We are working on multiple technologies to reimagine mobility and accelerate the push towards cleaner transportation.”</p>
<p>He highlighted the importance of alternative battery technologies and localizing the storage value chain.</p>
<p>The company said it looks forward to collaborating with manufacturing companies for global commercialization as it works on advancing the battery technology further.</p>
<p>In May, scientists at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/iit-researchers-make-headway-sodium-ion-batteries" target="_blank" rel="noopener">claimed</a> a breakthrough in developing sodium-ion (Na-ion) batteries by addressing the challenges of air/water instability and structural-cum-electrochemical instability in cathode materials.</p>
<p>Earlier, Reliance New Energy Solar, the green energy arm of Reliance Industries, <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/reliance-acquire-battery-technology-faradion" target="_blank" rel="noopener">signed</a> an agreement with sodium-ion battery technology provider Faradion Limited to acquire a 100% stake for £94.42 million (~$127.42 million).</p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/gautamee-hazarika/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Gautamee Hazarika</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><div class="designboxt">
<p><img class="alignleft" style="border-radius: 50%;height: 50px;margin-top: -4px;border: 1px solid #00b451" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Picture1.jpg" width="50" /></p>
<p><strong style="text-decoration: underline">Gautamee,</strong> Staff reporter at Mercom India<br />
<a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/gautamee-hazarika/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More articles from Gautamee.</a><br />
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<a href="gautamee@mercomindia.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">gautamee@mercomindia.com</a></p>
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<div class="authorboxn"><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Picture1.jpg" width="102" height="102" /><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/gautamee-hazarika/" rel="noopener">Gautamee</a> is a reporter at Mercom India. Prior to Mercom, Gautamee was working as a multimedia news journalist at ThePrint in New Delhi. She has received her Bachelors in English Honors and Masters in English Literature from St.Stephen&#8217;s College, University of Delhi.<a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/gautamee-hazarika/" rel="noopener">More articles from Gautamee</a></div>
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India-based KPIT Unveils Indigenous Sodium-Ion Battery Technology


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					</table><p>Graphite India (<a href="https://www.graphiteindia.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GIL</a>), a graphite electrode manufacturer, has entered into a definitive transaction to invest ₹500 million (~$6 million) in compulsory convertible preference shares of <a href="https://www.godienergy.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">GODI India</a>, a battery technology company.</p>
<p>GODI India, backed by <a href="https://www.blueashvacapital.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Blue Ashva Capital</a>, specializes in advanced chemistry research and development to support the manufacturing of sustainable batteries for electric vehicles (EVs) and supercapacitor-based energy storage systems.</p>
<p>The investment would provide Graphite India with a 31% equity shareholding in GODI on a fully diluted basis.</p>
<p>With a focus on high-power density lithium-ion batteries, GODI claims to have expertise in emerging technologies like sodium-ion and solid-state batteries.</p>
<p>The company’s technology portfolio includes environmentally friendly and carbon-neutral processes.</p>
<p>The global surge in EV sales and the growing demand for energy storage systems underscore the attractive industry dynamics for battery cell and supercapacitor production.</p>
<p>Ashutosh Dixit, Executive Director of Graphite India, said, “This move is part of Graphite India’s strategy to diversify into advanced battery and energy storage systems technologies. GODI India&#8217;s leadership in developing various battery technologies aligns with our commitment to technological innovation and growth, marking a significant step towards creating a diversified business portfolio.”</p>
<p>Founder and Director of GODI India Mahesh Godi, said, “Our battery materials and components, developed through environmentally friendly processes, cater to the dynamic electric vehicle and consumer electronics markets.”</p>
<p>“Additionally, our supercapacitors find applications in regenerative energy storage systems across various industries. We welcome this strategic partnership with Graphite India for their expertise in carbon and electrode manufacturing and their perspectives on synergistic technologies,” Godi added.</p>
<p>Graphite India has a production capacity of 98,000 MT per annum across three facilities in India and Germany. The company is expanding its presence in value-added graphite products for diverse industries such as automotive, aerospace, chemical, pharmaceutical, metallurgical, and machine tools.</p>
<p>With a total renewable energy capacity of 18 MW, Graphite India aims to increase it to 37 MW by March 2024.</p>
<p>The government of India recently <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/government-cost-for-critical-mineral-exploration" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> a 25% incentive on the approved project cost for exploration agencies to encourage private parties&#8217; mining of critical minerals. India has also identified 30 critical minerals, including graphite, lithium, and cobalt, which can be converted into material used in clean energy technologies.</p>
<p>Recently, China’s Ministry of Commerce <a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/china-curbs-export-graphite-ev-batteries" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> ‘temporary’ export control of sensitive graphite products, including highly sensitive spheroidized graphite, primarily used in EV batteries. The move, it said, was to ensure the stability and security of the global supply chain and safeguard national interests.</p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/gautamee-hazarika/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Gautamee Hazarika</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><div class="designboxt">
<p><img class="alignleft" style="border-radius: 50%;height: 50px;margin-top: -4px;border: 1px solid #00b451" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Picture1.jpg" width="50" /></p>
<p><strong style="text-decoration: underline">Gautamee,</strong> Staff reporter at Mercom India<br />
<a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/gautamee-hazarika/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More articles from Gautamee.</a><br />
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<a href="gautamee@mercomindia.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">gautamee@mercomindia.com</a></p>
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<div class="authorboxn"><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Picture1.jpg" width="102" height="102" /><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/gautamee-hazarika/" rel="noopener">Gautamee</a> is a reporter at Mercom India. Prior to Mercom, Gautamee was working as a multimedia news journalist at ThePrint in New Delhi. She has received her Bachelors in English Honors and Masters in English Literature from St.Stephen&#8217;s College, University of Delhi.<a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/gautamee-hazarika/" rel="noopener">More articles from Gautamee</a></div>
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Graphite India Forays into Battery Tech with ₹500 Million Investment in GODI


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					</table><p><a href="https://www.iitr.ac.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">IIT Roorkee</a> startup <a href="https://indienergy.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Indi Energy</a>, which specializes in manufacturing indigenous sodium-ion batteries, has been accorded the National Startup Award 2022 in the Energy Storage category by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry&#8217;s initiative <a href="https://www.startupindia.gov.in/content/sih/en/nsa2022.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Startup India</a>.</p>
<p>The award honors businesses that offer innovative and ground-breaking solutions that encourage India’s sustainable economic development and provide employment opportunities.</p>
<p>Indi Energy, founded in 2019, is India’s first company to successfully develop an indigenous sodium-ion cell using bio-waste-derived commercial hard carbon and indigenously developed cathode.</p>
<p>The company&#8217;s sodium-ion batteries are said to have a high energy density, low cost, and high safety, making them a viable and sustainable alternative to traditional lithium-ion batteries and lead-acid batteries.</p>
<p>The company aims to provide affordable and reliable energy storage solutions for a wide range of applications, including electric vehicles, grid storage, and portable electronics.</p>
<p>The company said it is trying to empower the nation with its indigenously developed battery, including its components, to make India self-reliant.</p>
<p>&#8220;We are proud to be leading the way in the development of sodium-ion batteries in India. This award is a step towards our goal of making India’s energy independent and self-reliant in sustainable energy storage solutions,” Yogesh Kumar Sharma, Co-Founder at Indi Energy, said.</p>
<p>&#8220;This award is a true recognition of our team&#8217;s hard work, dedication, and passion for creating sustainable and innovative energy solutions for India and the world,&#8221; Akash Soni, Co-Founder, and CEO of Indi Energy, said.</p>
<p>In recognition of the achievement, the certificate of commendation was presented by Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Commerce and Industries.</p>
<p>The institute recently launched a program to support faculty-led startups aimed at the commercialization of technologies.</p>
<p>The support is provided for prototyping, pilot testing, and marketing expenses.</p>
<p>IIT Roorkee is supporting 130-plus startups through TIDES (Technology Incubation and Entrepreneurship Development Society) and I-Hub Divyasampark.</p>
<p>Both units facilitate the incubation of new enterprises with innovative technologies by admitting them to their Incubation Centre and providing physical, technical, financial, and networking support and services.</p>
<p>In December 2022, researchers from the institute said they had successfully <a href="https://mercomindia.com/iit-roorkee-claim-17-efficiency-perovskite-solar-cells/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">developed</a> a prototype of a low-cost, high-quality perovskite solar cell that achieved a stable power conversion efficiency of 17.05%.</p>
<p>In the same month, researchers from IIT Guwahati, in collaboration with the University of Lisbon, Portugal, <a href="https://mercomindia.com/iit-researchers-discover-enzyme-that-bioethanol-fuel/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">found</a> a bacterial endoglucanase enzyme capable of breaking down biomatter into simple sugar and bioethanol — a promising renewable fuel that can replace petroleum-based fuel systems.</p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/gautamee-hazarika/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Gautamee Hazarika</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><div class="designboxt">
<p><img class="alignleft" style="border-radius: 50%;height: 50px;margin-top: -4px;border: 1px solid #00b451" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Picture1.jpg" width="50" /></p>
<p><strong style="text-decoration: underline">Gautamee,</strong> Staff reporter at Mercom India<br />
<a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/gautamee-hazarika/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More articles from Gautamee.</a><br />
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<a href="gautamee@mercomindia.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">gautamee@mercomindia.com</a></p>
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<div class="authorboxn"><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Picture1.jpg" width="102" height="102" /><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/gautamee-hazarika/" rel="noopener">Gautamee</a> is a reporter at Mercom India. Prior to Mercom, Gautamee was working as a multimedia news journalist at ThePrint in New Delhi. She has received her Bachelors in English Honors and Masters in English Literature from St.Stephen&#8217;s College, University of Delhi.<a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/gautamee-hazarika/" rel="noopener">More articles from Gautamee</a></div>
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IIT-backed Startup Wins National Award for Innovation in Energy Storage

<p>Reliance New Energy Solar Limited (RNESL), the green energy arm of Reliance Industries Limited (<a href="https://www.ril.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">RIL</a>), has signed an agreement with sodium-ion battery technology provider <a href="https://faradion.co.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Faradion Limited</a> to acquire a 100% stake for £94.42 million (~$127.42 million). Faradion has an enterprise value of around £100 million (~$134.96 million).</p>
<p>The UK-based sodium-ion battery technology company has extensive IP portfolios covering several aspects of sodium-ion technology. It had a turnover of £197,561 (~$266,683) in 2020. In 2020, Faradion had <a href="https://mercomindia.com/faradion-inks-deal-indian-startup/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> a partnership with Infraprime Logistics Technologies to provide batteries for commercial vehicles in the Indian electric vehicle market.</p>
<p>RNESL will acquire 88.92% of Faradion’s shares for £83.97 million (~$113.32 million) at closing expected in early January 2022. The remaining 11.08% shares will be acquired within three years for around £10.45 million (~$14.10 million).</p>
<p>RNESL will also subscribe to Faradion’s new equity shares for  £31.59 million (~$42.63 million). Of this, £25 million (~$33.74 million) will be used to accelerate the commercial rollout and the balance for debt repayment and other fees.</p>
<p>Reliance will use Faradion’s state-of-the-art technology at its proposed fully integrated energy storage giga-factory at Dhirubhai Ambani Green Energy Giga Complex Project in Jamnagar, Gujarat.</p>
<p>The sodium-ion battery technology does not utilize cobalt, lithium, copper, or graphite and has an energy density par with lithium-ion phosphate. The battery also has a wider operating temperature range of -30℃ to +60℃. The manufacturer can utilize existing lithium-ion manufacturing infrastructure to produce sodium-ion batteries, which has low-cost compared to lead-acid batteries.</p>
<p>Commenting on the acquisition, Mukesh Ambani, Chairman of RIL, said, “We will work with Faradion management to accelerate its plans to commercialize the technology by building integrated and end-to-end Giga scale manufacturing in India. “</p>
<p>Faradion’s acquisition comes after Reliance’s recent investment and acquisitions in the renewable energy sector. In October 2021, RNESL <a href="https://mercomindia.com/reliance-buy-stake-sterling-wilson/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">signed</a> an agreement with Shapoorji Pallonji and Company to acquire a 40% stake in Sterling and Wilson Solar through a combination of primary investment, a secondary purchase, and an open offer.</p>
<p>During the same month, RNESL <a href="https://mercomindia.com/reliance-acquires-rec-solar-holding/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">acquired</a> REC Solar Holdings, a Norway-headquartered solar cell, modules, and polysilicon manufacturing company, from China National Bluestar Group for $771 million. It also said that it would invest €25 million (~$29 million) in NexWafe, a Germany-based solar wafer manufacturer.</p>
<p>Earlier this year, Reliance <a href="https://mercomindia.com/reliance-foray-into-solar-battery/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced</a> that it would invest ₹750 billion (~$10 billion) to build an integrated solar photovoltaic factory, advanced energy storage battery manufacturing unit, green hydrogen, and fuel cell facility in Gujarat’s Jamnagar.</p>
<p>According to Mercom Capital Group’s <a href="https://mercomcapital.com/product/9m-q3-2021-funding-ma-report-storage-grid-efficiency/">9M and Q3 Funding and M&amp;A Report for Storage, Grid, and Efficiency</a>, the sector witnessed 15 battery storage merger and acquisition transactions in 9M 2021 compared to 11 transactions in the same period last year.</p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/harsh-shukla/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Harsh Shukla</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><p><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Harsh-Shukla-293x300-1-new.jpg" width="99" height="102" /><a href="https://mercomindia.com/author/harsh-shukla/" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong style="color: #00b451">Harsh Shukla</strong> </a>is a staff reporter at Mercom India. Previously with Indian Express, he has covered general interest stories. He holds a Masters Degree in Journalism from Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune.</p>
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Reliance to Acquire Sodium-Ion Battery Technology Provider Faradion for £94 Million

<p>The Center for Materials for Electronics Technology (C-MET) has invited Expressions of Interest (EoI) from interested parties for collaboration with the Center of Excellence for rechargeable battery technologies (Pre-cell).</p>
<p>The interested parties would include public sector units, private industry, and consortia. They would participate as second co-funding industrial partners to support the creation of the Indian cell manufacturing ecosystem through local and cost-effective manufacturing technologies suitable for small players.</p>
<p>The last date for submission of the proposal is September 30, 2020.</p>
<p>The scope of work for interested parties includes a partial funding commitment of ₹40 million (~$546,015), including the design and development of the below-mentioned machinery related to Lithium-ion (Li-ion) and Sodium-ion (Na-ion) battery cell manufacturing at C-MET, Pune.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Proposed-Design-and-Development-of-Machineries.png"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-21135" src="https://mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Proposed-Design-and-Development-of-Machineries.png" alt="Proposed Design and Development of Machineries" width="591" height="304" srcset="https://cms.mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Proposed-Design-and-Development-of-Machineries.png 591w, https://cms.mercomindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Proposed-Design-and-Development-of-Machineries-300x154.png 300w" sizes="(max-width: 591px) 100vw, 591px" /></a></p>
<p>The prospective co-funding party should have prior experience in battery manufacturing, along with the necessary infrastructure and machinery. They should also have experience in research in association with government departments and should be in the field of regeneration of cathode and anode of battery cells.</p>
<p>The co-funding party will be working towards Li-ion and Na-ion battery cell manufacturing, machinery design, and transfer of end-to-end indigenous technology for cell manufacturing in India.</p>
<p>The co-funding party will also get the proportionate share in the revenue generated from the know-how and intellectual property rights developed from the collaboration activity.</p>
<p><strong>About C-MET</strong></p>
<p>C-MET is a registered scientific society under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), and it works towards the development of viable technologies in electronic materials.</p>
<p>It has developed indigenous cathode and anode materials and established a prototype fabrication and testing facility for lithium-ion cells. The capacity of the developed cells is comparable with that of commercially available cells, according to C-MET.</p>
<p>According to the society, it had already developed cost-effective domestic technology for various chemistries of Li-ion battery (or materials for cathode and anode), including commercially relevant chemistries. C-MET has also developed alternative anodes such as spherical hard carbon using cost-effective techniques. The cathode and anode material making technology is suitable for the Indian environment, added C-MET. It also developed an indigenous cathode material technology showing a comparable capacity to commercially available cells and stability up to at least 500 cycles.</p>
<p>However, the technology still requires end-to-end machinery development and IPR protection for full commercialization. Though the knowledge about electrochemistry of Lithium systems is present in India, there is a lack of experience and know-how in the techno commercial aspects of commercial exploitation.</p>
<p>Through this EoI, the body aims to support the creation of the Indian cell manufacturing ecosystem through its indigenous cost-effective manufacturing technologies suitable for small players.</p>
<p>Mercom had earlier <a href="https://mercomindia.com/mnre-lists-lithium-battery-specifications/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reported</a> on MNRE’s draft notification detailing the specifications of lithium batteries that can be used for off-grid solar applications like solar street lightings and solar study lamps.</p>
<p>MNRE had <a href="https://mercomindia.com/mnre-testing-guidelines-battery-storage/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">issued</a> draft guidelines for performance testing of batteries (lead-acid and nickel-based chemistry type) series approval for mandatory registration with the Bureau of Indian Standards (<a href="https://bis.gov.in/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">BIS</a>). The battery energy storage system was brought under the ambit of the Solar Photovoltaics, Systems, Devices, and Component Goods (Requirement for Compulsory Registration under the BIS Act Order 2017), which was implemented on April 16, 2018.</p>
<p>The government also <a href="https://mercomindia.com/government-blueprint-ev-battery/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">issued</a> a proposal to set up a national mission on transformative mobility and battery storage initiatives last year. The Cabinet has also approved the creation of the Phased Manufacturing Program to support the development of large-scale, export-competitive integrated batteries and cell-manufacturing giga-scale projects in India.</p>
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C-MET Seeks Co-funding Partners for Li-ion and Na-ion Battery Cell Manufacturing

<p>Researchers at the Washington State University (<a href="https://wsu.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">WSU</a>) and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) announced that they have created a sodium-ion battery that can be made with widely and cheaply available materials.</p>
<p>They said that these batteries work as well as commercially available lithium-ion batteries, adding that they offer similar performance and can retain more than 80% of their charge even after 1,000 charge cycles.</p>
<p>“This is a major development for sodium-ion batteries,” said Imre Gyuk, director of Energy Storage for the Department of Energy’s Office of Electricity who supported this work at the laboratory, adding that “there is great interest around the potential for replacing lithium-ion batteries with sodium-ion in many applications.”</p>
<p>Lithium-ion batteries are some of the most commonly used types of batteries used in electronic devices and vehicles. They are usually smaller, lighter, and more compact in size compared to their alternatives.</p>
<p>However, they are delicate and need protection from being over-charged and discharged too far, which usually requires additional circuitry, making them more expensive to make. They also require much lower maintenance compared to other types of batteries.</p>
<p>Sodium-ion batteries can be made at much lower costs with materials available in abundance. Still, they have not been able to be as efficient as lithium-ion batteries at holding energy.</p>
<p>The researchers explained that this is because a layer of inactive sodium crystals builds up at the surface of the cathode, stopping the flow of sodium ions, and this kills the battery. They claim to have designed a solution that allowed the continued movement of sodium ions that prevents these surface build-ups.</p>
<p>“This work paves the way toward practical sodium-ion batteries, and the fundamental insights we gained about the cathode-electrolyte interaction shed light on how we might develop future cobalt-free or low cobalt cathode materials in sodium-ion batteries as well as in other types of battery chemistries,” said Junhua Song, lead author of the paper.</p>
<p>“If we can find viable alternatives to both lithium and cobalt, the sodium-ion battery could truly be competitive with lithium-ion batteries,” Song added.</p>
<p>Recently, Mercom <a href="https://mercomindia.com/researchers-develop-new-way-turn-polymers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reported</a> that researchers at Purdue University, in collaboration with researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology and Tufts University, have developed a technique to turn polymers into components for batteries using microwave radiation.</p>
<p>Previously, Japanese researchers <a href="https://mercomindia.com/researchers-electrode-material-lithium-batteries/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">developed</a> a new electrode material that they claimed would make lithium batteries cheaper, more stable, and capable of holding more charge for longer periods.</p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/nithin-thomas-prasad/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Nithin Thomas</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><div class="designboxt">
<p><img class="alignleft" style="border-radius: 50%;height: 50px;margin-top: -4px;border: 1px solid #00b451" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Nithin-2-1.jpg" width="50" /></p>
<p><strong style="text-decoration: underline">Nithin Thomas,</strong> Staff reporter at Mercom India<br />
<a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/author/nithin-thomas-prasad/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More articles from Nithin Thomas.</a></p>
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<div class="authorboxn"><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Nithin-2-1.jpg" width="102" height="102" /><a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/author/nithin-thomas-prasad/" rel="noopener">Nithin Thomas</a> is a staff reporter at Mercom India. Previously with Reuters News, he has covered oil, metals and agricultural commodity markets across global markets. He has also covered refinery and pipeline explosions, oil and gas leaks, Atlantic region hurricane developments, and other natural disasters. Nithin holds a Masters Degree in Applied Economics from Christ University, Bangalore and a Bachelor&#8217;s Degree in Commerce from Loyola College, Chennai.<a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/author/nithin-thomas-prasad/" rel="noopener">More articles from Nithin Thomas Prasad</a></div>
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Researchers Announce Cheaper Sodium-ion Battery to Compete with Lithium-ion

<p>Researchers at <a href="https://www.purdue.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Purdue University</a>, in collaboration with researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology and Tufts University, have developed a technique to turn polymers into components for batteries using microwave radiation.</p>
<p>“We use an ultrafast microwave irradiation process to turn PET, or polyethylene terephthalate, flakes into disodium terephthalate, and use that as battery anode material,” said Vilas Pol, an associate professor of chemical engineering at the Purdue Research Foundation Office of Technology Commercialization.</p>
<p>The paper stated that with the aid of this ultrafast microwave irradiation process, they were able to produce disodium terephthalate waste PET flakes within 2 minutes. The explained that they tried the approach with both lithium-ion and sodium-ion battery cells.</p>
<p>Lithium-ion batteries are some of the most commonly used types of batteries used in electronic devices and vehicles. They are usually smaller, lighter, and more compact in size compared to alternatives like lead-acid or nickel-based batteries. They also require much lower maintenance compared to other types of batteries.</p>
<p>Sodium-ion battery cells, on the other hand, have been seeing a rise in popularity thanks to the fact that sodium is more widely and easily available compared to lithium. They work like lithium-ion batteries, but they do not use cobalt-based electrodes. Cobalt is also expensive, and its mining process has been shrouded by controversy in the past.</p>
<p>Recently, Japanese researchers <a href="https://mercomindia.com/researchers-electrode-material-lithium-batteries/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">announced</a> the development of a new electrode material that could make lithium batteries cheaper, more stable, and capable of holding more charge for longer periods.  The research paper explained that while researchers have previously managed to improve the charge-holding capacity of lithium batteries, they have not been able to improve the amount of charge the batteries can disperse in a useful way.</p>
<p>Purdue University researchers have also <a href="https://mercomindia.com/new-formula-bifacial-solar-modules/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">come up</a> with a new thermodynamic formula, which reveals that bifacial cells make the double-sided panels generate 15% to 20% more electricity than the conventional monofacial cells on one-sided solar modules. An increasing number of companies are now moving towards two-sided solar modules, which can convert sunlight reflected from the ground, and more electricity could be generated.</p>
<div class="saboxplugin-wrap" itemtype="http://schema.org/Person" itemscope itemprop="author"><div class="saboxplugin-tab"><div class="saboxplugin-gravatar"></div><div class="saboxplugin-authorname"><a href="https://cms.mercomindia.com/author/nithin-thomas-prasad/" class="vcard author" rel="author"><span class="fn">Nithin Thomas</span></a></div><div class="saboxplugin-desc"><div itemprop="description"><div class="designboxt">
<p><img class="alignleft" style="border-radius: 50%;height: 50px;margin-top: -4px;border: 1px solid #00b451" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Nithin-2-1.jpg" width="50" /></p>
<p><strong style="text-decoration: underline">Nithin Thomas,</strong> Staff reporter at Mercom India<br />
<a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/author/nithin-thomas-prasad/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">More articles from Nithin Thomas.</a></p>
</div>
<div class="authorboxn"><img class="alignleft" src="https://mercomindia.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Nithin-2-1.jpg" width="102" height="102" /><a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/author/nithin-thomas-prasad/" rel="noopener">Nithin Thomas</a> is a staff reporter at Mercom India. Previously with Reuters News, he has covered oil, metals and agricultural commodity markets across global markets. He has also covered refinery and pipeline explosions, oil and gas leaks, Atlantic region hurricane developments, and other natural disasters. Nithin holds a Masters Degree in Applied Economics from Christ University, Bangalore and a Bachelor&#8217;s Degree in Commerce from Loyola College, Chennai.<a href="https://www.mercomindia.com/author/nithin-thomas-prasad/" rel="noopener">More articles from Nithin Thomas Prasad</a></div>
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