Challenges and industrial perspectives on the development of sodium ion batteries

The ever-increasing energy demand and concerns on scarcity of lithium minerals drive the development of sodium ion batteries which are regarded as promising options apart from lithium ion batteries for energy storage technologies. In this perspective, we first provide an overview of characteristics of sodium ion batteries compared to lithium ion batteries. Next we discuss critical metrics in the commercialisation of sodium ion batteries in terms of costs including bill of materials and manufacturing cost, performances like maximising energy density via some important design metrics and market acceptance. Furthermore, we point out the challenges from different components for achieving better electrochemical properties including the closed-loop battery recycling, and conduct a technological trend analysis based on sodium ion battery patent landscapes, with the expectation that the insights provided in this perspective may help to inspire researchers and to shorten the gap between the academia and industry for accelerating sodium ion batteries in practical applications.