Hard Carbon Sparks Fast-Charging Sodium Batteries

Researchers at Tokyo University of Science found that using hard carbon as the anode enables high sodium storage and faster sodiation, potentially matching fast charging of lithium ion batteries and boosting energy density. Sodium ion batteries offer environmental and supply chain advantages, including cheaper production and safer shipping, with growing use in vehicles. However they still lag lithium ion in energy density and face challenges to sustain fast charging due to ion traffic jams, so lithium ion remains dominant for now while sodium ion technology continues to advance.