Sodium-Ion Battery: Can It Compete with Li-Ion?

As concerns about the availability of mineral resourcesfor lithium-ionbatteries (LIBs) arise and demands for large-scale energy storagesystems rapidly increase, non-LIB technologies have been extensivelyexplored as low-cost alternatives. Among the various candidates, sodium-ionbatteries (SIBs) have been the most widely studied, as they avoidthe use of expensive and less abundant elements such as lithium, cobalt,and nickel while also sharing similar operating principles with LIBs.In this Perspective, we discuss why SIBs hold great promise and canact as competitors to lithium-ion technology. In addition, the remainingchallenges and future research directions are highlighted, focusingon cathode developments and the use of SIBs in large-scale applications,including electric vehicles and stationary energy storage.