NEW TRENDS OF SODIUM-SULFUR BATTERIES DEVELOPMENT

This paper reviews foreign publications on room temperature sodium-sulfur batteries research of the last decade (2007-2017). Until the end of the last century, a number of companies produced sodium-sulfur batteries with β-alumina solid electrolyte and operating temperatures of 320–340 °C. Along with high electrochemical indices, their important advantage was low cost and unlimited natural reserves of the raw materials, sodium and sulfur. There is every reason to believe that current studies will eliminate the main drawback of the original design of the sodium-sulfur battery, that is, a high operating temperature, without losing its advantages. Lithium-ion batteries, which have become widespread over the past 25 years, remain expensive, lithium natural reserves are limited, and the collection and recycling of used lithium-ion batteries is problematic.