Sustainability-inspired cell design for a fully recyclable sodium ion battery

Abstract

Large-scale applications of rechargeable batteries consume nonrenewable resources and produce massive amounts of end-of-life wastes, which raise sustainability concerns in terms of manufacturing, environmental, and ecological costs. Therefore, the recyclability and sustainability of a battery should be considered at the design stage by using naturally abundant resources and recyclable battery technology. Herein, we design a fully recyclable rechargeable sodium ion battery with bipolar electrode structure using Na₃V₂(PO₄)₃ as an electrode material and aluminum foil as the shared current collector. Such a design allows exceptional sodium ion battery performance in terms of high-power correspondence and long-term stability and enables the recycling of ∼100% Na₃V₂(PO₄)₃ and ∼99.1% elemental aluminum without the release of toxic wastes, resulting in a solid-component recycling efficiency of >98.0%. The successful incorporation of sustainability into battery design suggests that closed-loop recycling and the reutilization of battery materials can be achieved in next-generation energy storage technologies.

Effective recycling technologies represent a solution to the sustainability and environmental consequences of spent rechargeable batteries. Here, the authors show a bipolar electrode design that allows not only good electrochemical performance but a closed loop of material use for sodium ion batteries.