Chinese scientist develops sodium battery that charges in 4 minutes

A Chinese scientist has developed a sodium battery that can be fully charged within four minutes, maintaining about 90% of its capacity after 2,000 charge and discharge cycles. It relies on a semi-solid gel electrolyte that remains effective even after repeated bending. This advancement is significant for China, which imports 75% of its lithium needs, as sodium is more abundant, cheaper than lithium, and can be extracted from seawater. Investments and commercial experiments on grid-level storage and networks are ongoing, and sodium batteries are gaining increasing attention as a reliable local alternative, despite their energy density still being lower than current lithium batteries. It is expected that their costs will reach parity with lithium batteries by 2027, as production expands and costs decrease.

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