Solid-state batteries can use a wide range of chemistries, but a leading candidate for commercialization uses lithium metal. Quantumscape, for one, is focused on that technology and raised hundreds of millions in funding before going public in . The company has a deal with Volkswagen that could put its batteries in cars by .  

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But completely reinventing batteries has proved difficult, and lithium-metal batteries have seen concerns about degradation over time, as well as manufacturing challenges. Quantumscape announced in late December it had delivered samples to automotive partners for testing, a significant milestone on the road to getting solid-state batteries into cars. Other solid-state-battery players, like Solid Power, are also working to build and test their batteries. But while they could reach major milestones this year as well, their batteries won&#;t make it into vehicles on the road in . 

Solid-state batteries aren&#;t the only new technology to watch out for. Sodium-ion batteries also swerve sharply from lithium-ion chemistries common today. These batteries have a design similar to that of lithium-ion batteries, including a liquid electrolyte, but instead of relying on lithium, they use sodium as the main chemical ingredient. Chinese battery giant CATL reportedly plans to begin mass-producing them in . 

Sodium-ion batteries may not improve performance, but they could cut costs because they rely on cheaper, more widely available materials than lithium-ion chemistries do. But it&#;s not clear whether these batteries will be able to meet needs for EV range and charging time, which is why several companies going after the technology, like US-based Natron, are targeting less demanding applications to start, like stationary storage or micromobility devices such as e-bikes and scooters. 

Today, the market for batteries aimed at stationary grid storage is small&#;about one-tenth the size of the market for EV batteries, according to Yayoi Sekine, head of energy storage at energy research firm BloombergNEF. But demand for electricity storage is growing as more renewable power is installed, since major renewable power sources like wind and solar are variable, and batteries can help store energy for when it&#;s needed. 

Lithium-ion batteries aren&#;t ideal for stationary storage, even though they&#;re commonly used for it today. While batteries for EVs are getting smaller, lighter, and faster, the primary goal for stationary storage is to cut costs. Size and weight don&#;t matter as much for grid storage, which means different chemistries will likely win out. 

One rising star in stationary storage is iron, and two players could see progress in the coming year. Form Energy is developing an iron-air battery that uses a water-based electrolyte and basically stores energy using reversible rusting. The company recently announced a $760 million manufacturing facility in Weirton, West Virginia, scheduled to begin construction in . Another company, ESS, is building a different type of iron battery that employs similar chemistry; it has begun manufacturing at its headquarters in Wilsonville, Oregon.

Shifts within the standard

Lithium-ion batteries keep getting better and cheaper, but researchers are tweaking the technology further to eke out greater performance and lower costs.

We rely heavily on lithium batteries &#; but there's a growing array of alternatives

20 March

By  Claudia Lee , 

Features correspondent

Getty Images

The global demand for batteries is surging as the world looks to rapidly electrify vehicles and store renewable energy (Credit: Getty Images)

Lithium batteries are very difficult to recycle and require huge amounts of water and energy to produce. Emerging alternatives could be cheaper and greener.

In Australia's Yarra Valley, new battery technology is helping power the country's residential buildings and commercial ventures &#; without using lithium. These batteries rely on sodium &#; an element found in table salt &#; and they could be another step in the quest for a truly sustainable battery.

The global demand for batteries is surging as the world looks to rapidly electrify vehicles and store renewable energy. Lithium ion batteries, which are typically used in EVs, are difficult to recycle and require huge amounts of energy and water to extract. Companies are frantically looking for more sustainable alternatives that can help power the world's transition to green energy.

Faradion's sodium-ion batteries are already being used by energy companies around the world to store renewable electricity. And they are just one alternative to our heavy and growing reliance on lithium, which was listed by the European Union as a "critical raw material" in . The market size for the lithium battery is predicted to grow from $57bn (£45bn) in , to $187bn (£150bn) by .

The surprising history of one of the greatest ever inventions

To find promising alternatives to lithium batteries, it helps to consider what has made the lithium battery so popular in the first place. Some of the factors that make a good battery are lifespan, power, energy density, safety and affordability.

The downsides are also plentiful: at the end of their lifespan, recycling these batteries is still a complicated process. Extracting individual metals in the battery for recycling involves shedding the metal, then separating them in liquid to extract the desired metal.

"Recycling a lithium-ion battery consumes more energy and resources than producing a new battery, explaining why only a small amount of lithium-ion batteries are recycled," says Aqsa Nazir, a postdoctoral research scholar at Florida International University's battery research laboratory.

An alternative to the evaporation method is hard rock mining, such as is done in Australia. But this has its own drawbacks. For every tonne of lithium mined during hard rock mining, approximately 15 tonnes of CO2 is emitted into the atmosphere.

So, are there viable alternatives to the lithium-ion battery?

Sodium-ion batteries

In sodium-ion batteries, sodium directly replaces lithium. Not unlike lithium-ion batteries, sodium batteries contain four main components &#; the anode, the cathode, an electrolyte and a separator. The state of the electrolyte varies depending on the manufacturer.

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Lithium extraction using evaporation ponds, as is done in Chile, comes with a high water footprint (Credit: Getty Images)

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Maria Forsyth, chair of electromaterials and corrosion sciences at Deakin University, Australia, says that switching from lithium to sodium battery production would be fairly low cost.

"Manufacturing wise, the transition is easy because the same factories, which currently produce lithium-ion batteries, can manufacture sodium batteries," says Forsyth. "This means production can be scaled quickly.

One benefit of sodium batteries is their safety in transit. "A unique feature of sodium ion technology is the ability to discharge sodium to zero volts for storage and transportation," says Quinn, Faradion's chief executive. "This means it can be stored and transported in safer conditions." The lower flammability risk levels make it a safer option compared to lithium batteries, Quinn says.

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One drawback, however, is low energy density. For EV manufacturers, low energy density batteries are problematic because this affects a vehicle's range. While lithium batteries have energy densities between 150-220 Wh/kg (watt-hour per kilogram), sodium batteries have an lower energy density range of 140-160 Wh/kg. Meng says this means it's less likely that sodium batteries will be commercially scaled for use in EVs that require long ranges between charges.

Solid-state batteries

Solid-state batteries use solid electrolytes, instead of the liquid or aqueous electrolytes common in traditional batteries. The two most popular types of solid electrolytes include inorganic solid electrolytes (oxides and sulfides) and solid polymers (polymer salts, or gel polymers).

Using solid electrolytes reduces the risk of dendrite formation &#; those tree-like structures within the battery that can cause battery failure. Solid-state batteries also have a lower risk of flammability, a higher energy density and a faster charging cycle.

However, solid-state batteries may be harder to scale quickly than sodium batteries, says Shirley Meng, professor of molecular engineering at the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago. "Sodium batteries are lower in cost, and are easier to integrate into current lithium battery production plants." Based on a calculation model, the manufacturing costs of solid state batteries are also currently higher than that of lithium ion batteries.

To advance solid battery technology, it's essential to find durable solid-state electrolytes. Some researchers say an ideal solid electrolyte is yet to be found. However, Colorado-based Solid Power has designed a sulfide electrolyte-based battery which it claims is 50-100% higher in energy density than modern lithium ion batteries. Solid Power aims to scale its solid-state tech to power 800,000 electric vehicles per year by .

Getty Images

Some of the factors that make a good battery are lifespan, power, energy density, safety and affordability (Credit: Getty Images)

Solid-state batteries are currently commercially available in a thin-film format, making them an option for wearable electronics, "internet of things" (IoT) devices, for example home security systems and smart lighting. They can also be used in medical devices, such as llika's Stereax M300, a hip implant device.

But while these batteries have some small-scale uses, they aren't currently an option for large-scale energy storage. "We need to be realistic," says Meng. "Right now, perhaps solid-state batteries are viable for IoT and wearables. But for solid-state tech that can contribute to the energy transition, they will need to be scaled to produce terawatt hours (TWh) of energy."

Lithium-sulphur batteries

Lithium-sulphur batteries are similar in composition to lithium-ion batteries &#; and, as the name suggests, they still use some lithium. The lithium is present in the battery's anode, and sulphur is used in the cathode. Lithium-ion batteries use rare earth minerals like nickel, manganese and cobalt (NMC) in their cathode.

So although these batteries contain lithium, the abundance of sulphur makes them a potentially more sustainable option compared with conventional lithium-ion batteries, says Aqsa. "When commercialised, this battery will likely be used for grid storage, though mobile use is also feasible in the longer term."

The similarity with lithium-ion batteries makes lithium-sulphur batteries relatively easy to produce. "They can be manufactured in the same production plants, saving costs of new technical resources," says Nazir.

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Lithium-sulphur batteries also have additional functional advantages as they have a higher energy density, meaning they produce more power, Nazir adds. "Sulphur has the capacity to move more electrons. Lithium-sulphur batteries have nine times the energy density of a lithium-ion battery."

However these batteries suffer from poor chargeability. The formation of tree-like structures called dendrites can lead to short circuiting and battery failure. With prototypes working for as little as 50 charge cycles, they aren't yet feasible for use in EVs, for example.

If one thing is clear, it's that no single battery type is going to be a universal answer to replacing lithium ion batteries. But as Forsyth points out, that's not a bad thing.

"We don't need to replace the lithium in all batteries, what is needed is a diversification of battery technology," says Forsyth. "Maybe it's not having one replacement but having alternatives that can be deployed where it's right to deploy them."

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