Design Delight Studio

Building Sustainable Sodium-Ion Batteries from Wood Industry By-Products

Published: November 3, 2025 | Source: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft

Overview

As the shift toward renewable energy intensifies, there is a pressing demand for affordable, safe, and eco-friendly energy storage solutions. Addressing this, researchers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic Technologies and Systems (IKTS), Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena, and the Center for Energy and Environmental Chemistry Jena (CEEC) are innovating sodium-ion batteries utilizing lignin—a by-product of the wood and paper industry.

Why Lignin?

Lignin, an abundant biopolymer found in wood, traditionally used for energy generation via combustion, is being repurposed as a pivotal material for battery electrodes. This approach leverages:

• Local availability: Reduces dependency on critical raw materials like lithium, cobalt, and nickel.
• Environmental benefits: Uses sustainably sourced, renewable biomass.
• Cost efficiency: Offers potential reduction in production costs.

The ThüNaBsE Project

The "Thuringia Sodium-Ion Battery for Scalable Energy Storage" (ThüNaBsE) project aims to develop a 1-Ah full sodium-ion battery cell from lignin starting material through to final testing.

Key Innovations:

• Negative electrode: Hard carbon derived from thermally processed lignin under inert conditions. This hard carbon demonstrates excellent reversible sodium-ion storage capabilities, robust electrochemical performance, and strong cycle stability.

• Positive electrode: Utilizes Prussian Blue analogs—non-toxic iron-based compounds with high sodium-ion storage capacity, environmental safety, and good raw material availability.

• Reducing Critical Elements: The project targets minimizing or eliminating fluorine content in the battery’s electrodes and electrolytes to enhance sustainability.

Current Progress and Performance

• The first prototype cells have been assembled and are undergoing rigorous testing at Fraunhofer IKTS facilities and Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena.
• Initial results are promising, showing no significant degradation after 100 charge-discharge cycles.
• The project aims to achieve 200 stable cycles with the 1-Ah full cell before project completion.

Applications & Future Outlook

Once commercialized, these sodium-ion batteries will cater to stationary energy storage and mobile applications demanding moderate power—such as microcars (max speed ~45 km/h) and warehouse logistics vehicles like forklifts.

The project also fosters emerging researchers in energy and battery fields, supporting regional scientific development. Post-project, plans include scaling the technology through a larger consortium towards higher technology readiness.

Conclusion

The ThüNaBsE project is a promising step toward sustainable, safe, and low-cost sodium-ion batteries by valorizing lignin, a common wood industry by-product. This innovation could significantly contribute to the circular economy while supporting the global energy transition away from fossil fuels and critical metals.

References

• Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft (2025). Building sustainable sodium-ion batteries from wood industry by-products. https://techxplore.com/news/2025-11-sustainable-sodium-ion-batteries-wood.html

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