Sugar May Be The Missing Element For Rechargeable Batteries (+VIDEO)

Lithium-ion batteries are omnipresent in portable electronics, but rapidly growing demands for lithium that gradually becomes more scarce have encouraged such countries like Japan to develop alternatives for a cheap, high-performance rechargeable battery. Researchers from the Tokyo University of Science discovered, that pyrolyzed sucrose is an effective material for the anode of sodium-ion batteries, thus sugar may be the missing ingredient for building rechargeable batteries that are cheaper and more durable. Sodium-ion batteries are viewed as one of the possible successors to lithium-ion technology. Associate Professor Shinichi Komaba and his team are now developing an effective sodium-ion battery and hope to reach their final goal to create a commercially competitive battery in around five years.
Via:gizmag.com