Sodium-ion batteries for electrification of society: cradle to grave
Summary
Lithium-ion batteries dominate today’s energy storage market, but concerns around material scarcity, safety, carbon footprint and recyclability limit their long-term sustainability. This project tackles those challenges by advancing sodium-ion batteries as a safer, low-cost, and more abundant alternative—while addressing the technical, environmental and social barriers to adoption in Canada.
The work is structured around four interconnected areas: improving cell performance through materials science, optimizing pack design for peak shaving, grid support and remote applications, developing scalable, low-impact recycling processes, and analyzing social acceptance and sustainability using circularity and equity-based frameworks.
Led by a multidisciplinary team, the project will provide policymakers, industry and communities with the tools to embrace sodium-ion batteries as a viable solution for clean, resilient and equitable energy storage.
Key details
| Principal investigator | Lukas Swan, Dalhousie University |
| Co-principal investigators | Azadeh Kermanshahi-pour, Dalhousie University Jeff Dahn, Dalhousie University Khaled Benis, Dalhousie University Mark Obrovac, Dalhousie University Marc-Antoni Goulet, Concordia University Michael Metzger, Dalhousie University Penghao Xiao, Dalhousie University Philippe Gray, University of Calgary Stanley Asah, Dalhousie University Dominic Groulx, Dalhousie University Chongyin Yang, Dalhousie University |
| Research collaborators | Alexandra Mallett, Carleton University Andrew Henderson, ETS |
| Areas of Research | Battery and Energy Storage Technologies, Public Policy and Governance of Energy or Energy-related Technologies |
| Non-academic partners | Tesla, Peak Energy Inc, Surrette Battery Inc, Novonix Inc, Lab4 Inc, Wind Energy Institute of Canada, Behdzi Ahda First Nation, Defense Research and Development Canada |
