Sustainable Sodium-Ion Batteries from Wood Industry By-Products

Overview

Researchers at Fraunhofer Institute and Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena design a new sodium-ion battery. They use lignin taken from wood and pulp waste. This work meets the need for safe, low-cost, and eco-friendly energy storage. It supports the energy transition.

Why Lignin?

Lignin builds wood’s strength. It usually burns to provide heat. Its makeup, rich in hydrocarbons, fits well for battery electrodes. The ThüNaBsE project takes lignin from local sources and turns it into hard carbon. This hard carbon makes the battery’s negative electrode. Using lignin helps lower reliance on rare, problematic metals like lithium, cobalt, and nickel.

Key Materials & Components

• Negative Electrode: Hard carbon comes from lignin heated without oxygen.
• Positive Electrode: Prussian Blue analogs, made from iron, store sodium ions. They are non-toxic and eco-friendly.

Together, these parts support green production. They also lower fluorine use in both electrodes and electrolytes.

Performance and Development

Early lab cells show stable cycling over 100 charge-discharge cycles with little loss. The project aims to reach 200 cycles on a 1-Ah full cell.
These batteries suit stationary energy storage or moderate-power vehicles. Examples include microcars (max 45 km/h) and forklifts for warehouses.

Research Impact and Future Plans

• Sustainability: The work frees us from critical raw materials. It also adds value to wood waste.
• Local Development: It involves young researchers from Thuringia who study energy and battery systems.
• Next Steps: The team will scale up production and refine technology with a larger group after the project ends.

Conclusion

The ThüNaBsE project makes a strong case for using wood by-products in sodium-ion batteries. This method may soon offer greener and cheaper energy storage.

Source: Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, November 3, 2025
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