Cathode and anode materials for sodium-ion battery for large scale micro-grid applications
3rd International Conference on Nanotek & Expo
December 02-04, 2013 Hampton Inn Tropicana, Las Vegas, NV, USA

Palani Balaya

Accepted Abstracts: J Nanomed Nanotechnol

Abstract:

Deployment of micro-grids using intermittent renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power requires energy storage systems. Large scale storage systems (250-1000 kWh) are useful for load shifting as well as frequency regulation. Currently lithium-ion batteries are preferred for micro-grid applications but are expensive about $800-1000/kWh. Besides, lithium is a scarcity and may not meet proliferating needs of the future especially in defense applications due to energy security. Sodium, on the other hand, is the sixth most abundant element on the Earth?s crust. Sodium-ion batteries are still in the nascent stage but are expected to be safe and durable and predicted to be inexpensive (about $250/kWh). Sodium based materials, besides being more environmental friendly, is also easy to recover - at a fraction of the cost of lithium based materials. Regardless of the lower energy density of sodium-ion batteries, they can be effectively employed for micro-grid applications, where the weight and footprint requirement are not severe. In this talk, recent results on selected cathode and anode materials for Na-ion battery system will be prsented. Strategies to improve the storage capacity, rate performance and cycle life would also be discussed

Biography :

Palani Balaya, just after graduating (1987-1993) from Hyderabad University, India in the area of Solid State Ionics, joined at IISc, Bangalore as a Research Associate (1994-1996) and worked on thermal properties of insulating materials. He later joined at Inter University Consortium Mumbai, as a Scientist (1996-2001) and worked on amorphous materials. He then moved to Max Planck Institute for Solid State Research, Stuttgart as a Guest Scientist (2001-2006) and worked in the area of Nano-ionics. He joined as an Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Engineering, NUS in January 2007. His current research area includes energy conversion and storage