Sustainable Sodium-Ion Batteries from Wood Industry By-Products: A Breakthrough by Fraunhofer Researchers

As the global shift toward renewable energy accelerates, the demand for cost-effective, safe, and environmentally friendly energy storage solutions is rising sharply. Addressing this challenge, researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems IKTS and Friedrich-Schiller University Jena—under the ThüNaBsE project—are pioneering a sodium-ion battery system using lignin, a cellulose biopolymer and a common by-product of the wood and pulp industry.

The Innovation: Lignin-Derived Hard Carbon Electrodes

Lignin, traditionally burned for energy, is repurposed here as a sustainable raw material for battery electrodes. Under an inert atmosphere, lignin undergoes thermal treatment to form hard carbon—a material well-suited for reversible sodium-ion storage due to its electrochemical stability, high performance, and low cost when sourced sustainably.

This hard carbon constitutes the negative electrode, while the positive electrode uses Prussian Blue analogs—non-toxic, iron-based compounds known for their environmental compatibility and effective sodium-ion storage capabilities.

Project Goals and Environmental Benefits

• Reduce reliance on critical metals: The sodium-ion batteries avoid scarce and expensive lithium, cobalt, and nickel.
• Minimize fluorine use: Efforts are underway to reduce or eliminate fluorine-containing components in electrodes and electrolytes.
• Local raw materials: Emphasizing lignin sourced from nearby wood industry by-products boosts resource efficiency.
• Support emerging scientists: The project fosters expertise by involving doctoral candidates focused on energy and battery research.

Performance and Applications

Early laboratory tests show promising stability with no significant degradation after 100 charge-discharge cycles. The project aims to extend this to 200 cycles for a 1-Ah full cell by its conclusion.

These batteries are envisioned primarily for stationary energy storage and low-power mobile applications, such as:

• Microcars with speed limits around 45 km/h
• Warehouse logistics vehicles like forklifts

Future Prospects

Following successful prototype validation, project partners plan to upscale production and improve technology readiness through expanded collaborations.

Why This Matters

This sustainable battery technology:

• Supports the energy transition by providing an affordable and greener alternative to lithium-ion batteries.
• Demonstrates innovative bio-waste valorization, promoting circular economy principles.
• Has potential to diversify energy storage applications with safer, locally sourced materials.

Source: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, “Building sustainable sodium-ion batteries from wood industry by-products,” November 3, 2025.
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