Research Projects

Clean energy is crucial for India's decarbonised economy, but sustainable energy generation methods are intermittent. Energy storage is essential to balance production and consumption, ensuring grid stability. Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are currently the most effective energy storage technology, but they may not be suitable for large-scale applications due to geographical isolation, limited lithium resources, and safety concerns. The cost of lithium-ore has increased by 300% in the past decade, making complete dependence on LIBs ineffective. Aqueous sodium-ion batteries (NIBs) offer a promising alternative for grid-level energy storage. Sodium has unlimited reserves and shares similarities with lithium chemistry, making it more affordable and environmentally friendly. NIBs offer fluctuation-free performance due to their ionic conductivity and heat sinking capability. However, the electrochemical performance of NIBs is influenced by electrode materials, and modifying existing cathode materials may not show good performance due to the larger ionic radius of sodium. The current project aims to synthesize high-performance PBA using low-cost materials and understand their growth mechanism. The aqueous electrolyte will be tailored to provide a better voltage window for battery operation, and sodium-ion storage mechanisms will be studied in-operando through quartz crystal microbalance-based measurements and ex-situ characterisation of electrodes. This research aims to address the "Terawatt challenge" by exploring alternative energy storage technologies.