“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 an alternative is new.
“One of many important points with such a cell idea is the security subject,” Janek says. Sodium metallic reacts very strongly with water. (You’ll 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 gas dangerous reactions. The stable electrolyte, a ceramic materials, additionally helps stop 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 environment or ocean, the place it could react with carbon dioxide, capturing it in a steady type and stopping it from contributing to world warming. There are teams pursuing discipline 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 offered as a by-product.
There are financial elements working in favor of sodium-based programs, although it could take some work to construct up the required provide chains. At this time, sodium metallic isn’t produced at very excessive volumes. Nevertheless, 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 potential that scaling up manufacturing of sodium metallic would make it low cost sufficient to make use of in gas cell programs, Chiang says.
Chiang has cofounded an organization known as Propel Aero to commercialize the analysis. The mission acquired 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 begin 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 relatively disillusioned,” Chiang says. “As a result of if an thought doesn’t sound loopy in the beginning, it most likely isn’t as revolutionary as you assume. Thankfully, most individuals assume I’m loopy on this one.”