“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 gasoline cell as an alternative is new.
“One of many important points with this kind of cell idea is the protection subject,” Janek says. Sodium metallic reacts very strongly with water. (You could have seen movies the place blocks of sodium metallic get thrown right into a lake, to dramatic impact). Requested about this subject, Chiang says the design of the cell ensures that water produced throughout reactions is constantly eliminated, so there’s not sufficient round to gasoline 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 often called lye, it is an industrial chemical, utilized in merchandise like liquid drain-cleaning answer. One of many researchers’ ideas is to dilute the product and launch it into the ambiance or ocean, the place it will react with carbon dioxide, capturing it in a steady kind and stopping it from contributing to world warming. There are teams pursuing subject trials utilizing this actual 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 could possibly be collected and bought as a by-product.
There are financial components working in favor of sodium-based techniques, although it will take some work to construct up the mandatory provide chains. At this time, sodium metallic isn’t produced at very excessive volumes. Nonetheless, it may be comprised 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 creating leaded gasoline. So there’s a precedent for a bigger provide chain, and it’s attainable that scaling up manufacturing of sodium metallic would make it low cost sufficient to make use of in gasoline cell techniques, Chiang says.
Chiang has cofounded an organization referred to as Propel Aero to commercialize the analysis. The challenge obtained funding from ARPA-E’s Propel-1K program, which goals to develop new types of high-power vitality storage for plane, trains, and ships.
The subsequent step is to proceed analysis to enhance the cells’ efficiency and vitality density, and to start out designing small-scale techniques. One potential early software is drones. “We’d wish to make one thing fly throughout the subsequent 12 months,” Chiang says.
“If individuals don’t discover it loopy, I’ll be moderately dissatisfied,” Chiang says. “As a result of if an concept doesn’t sound loopy firstly, it in all probability isn’t as revolutionary as you assume. Luckily, most individuals assume I’m loopy on this one.”