Beyond Lithium: Future Battery Technologies for Sustainable Energy Storage

Known for their high energy density, lithium-ion batteries have become ubiquitous in today’s technology landscape. However, they face critical challenges in terms of safety, availability, and sustainability. With the increasing global demand for energy, there is a growing need for alternative, effic...

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Main Authors: Alan K. X. Tan, Shiladitya Paul
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-11-01
Series:Energies
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/17/22/5768
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author Alan K. X. Tan
Shiladitya Paul
author_facet Alan K. X. Tan
Shiladitya Paul
author_sort Alan K. X. Tan
collection DOAJ
description Known for their high energy density, lithium-ion batteries have become ubiquitous in today’s technology landscape. However, they face critical challenges in terms of safety, availability, and sustainability. With the increasing global demand for energy, there is a growing need for alternative, efficient, and sustainable energy storage solutions. This is driving research into non-lithium battery systems. This paper presents a comprehensive literature review on recent advancements in non-lithium battery technologies, specifically sodium-ion, potassium-ion, magnesium-ion, aluminium-ion, zinc-ion, and calcium-ion batteries. By consulting recent peer-reviewed articles and reviews, we examine the key electrochemical properties and underlying chemistry of each battery system. Additionally, we evaluate their safety considerations, environmental sustainability, and recyclability. The reviewed literature highlights the promising potential of non-lithium batteries to address the limitations of lithium-ion batteries, likely to facilitate sustainable and scalable energy storage solutions across diverse applications.
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spelling doaj-art-3cbb189a45b74881892d88272e25a5cd2025-08-20T02:08:15ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732024-11-011722576810.3390/en17225768Beyond Lithium: Future Battery Technologies for Sustainable Energy StorageAlan K. X. Tan0Shiladitya Paul1St Edmund’s College, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0BN, UKMaterials Performance and Integrity Technology Group, TWI, Cambridge CB21 6AL, UKKnown for their high energy density, lithium-ion batteries have become ubiquitous in today’s technology landscape. However, they face critical challenges in terms of safety, availability, and sustainability. With the increasing global demand for energy, there is a growing need for alternative, efficient, and sustainable energy storage solutions. This is driving research into non-lithium battery systems. This paper presents a comprehensive literature review on recent advancements in non-lithium battery technologies, specifically sodium-ion, potassium-ion, magnesium-ion, aluminium-ion, zinc-ion, and calcium-ion batteries. By consulting recent peer-reviewed articles and reviews, we examine the key electrochemical properties and underlying chemistry of each battery system. Additionally, we evaluate their safety considerations, environmental sustainability, and recyclability. The reviewed literature highlights the promising potential of non-lithium batteries to address the limitations of lithium-ion batteries, likely to facilitate sustainable and scalable energy storage solutions across diverse applications.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/17/22/5768battery materialsenergy storagesodium-ion batteriespotassium-ion batteriesmagnesium-ion batteriesaluminium-ion batteries
spellingShingle Alan K. X. Tan
Shiladitya Paul
Beyond Lithium: Future Battery Technologies for Sustainable Energy Storage
Energies
battery materials
energy storage
sodium-ion batteries
potassium-ion batteries
magnesium-ion batteries
aluminium-ion batteries
title Beyond Lithium: Future Battery Technologies for Sustainable Energy Storage
title_full Beyond Lithium: Future Battery Technologies for Sustainable Energy Storage
title_fullStr Beyond Lithium: Future Battery Technologies for Sustainable Energy Storage
title_full_unstemmed Beyond Lithium: Future Battery Technologies for Sustainable Energy Storage
title_short Beyond Lithium: Future Battery Technologies for Sustainable Energy Storage
title_sort beyond lithium future battery technologies for sustainable energy storage
topic battery materials
energy storage
sodium-ion batteries
potassium-ion batteries
magnesium-ion batteries
aluminium-ion batteries
url https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/17/22/5768
work_keys_str_mv AT alankxtan beyondlithiumfuturebatterytechnologiesforsustainableenergystorage
AT shiladityapaul beyondlithiumfuturebatterytechnologiesforsustainableenergystorage