World’s first full-cell dual-cation battery developed at University of Limerick, Ireland

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In a world’s first, researchers at University of Limerick have developed a battery that could reshape the future of electric vehicles and portable electronics.

The breakthrough in energy storage technology has seen the development at UL of the world’s first full-cell dual-cation battery.

This innovative system combines lithium and sodium ions to significantly enhance both battery capacity and stability, marking a new frontier in sustainable energy research.

The pioneering work, published in Nano Energy, was led by Hugh Geaney, Associate Professor in Chemistry at UL’s Department of Chemical Sciences and Principal Investigator at UL’s Bernal Institute, and Government of Ireland postdoctoral fellow, Dr Syed Abdul Ahad, his colleague at the Department and the Bernal Institute. The project was in collaboration with researchers at University of Birmingham.

Unlike traditional sodium-only (single-cation) batteries, this new dual-cation system combines the strengths of both lithium and sodium, to deliver better performance while keeping sodium as the main component, making the technology more efficient and sustainable.

“For the first time, we’ve shown that sodium-ion batteries can be ‘supercharged’ by pairing sodium and lithium in a sodium-dominant dual-cation electrolyte,” said Associate Professor Geaney.

“This breakthrough opens the door to more sustainable, high-performance battery chemistries.”

Dr. Abdul Ahad, who conceptualised this study and carried out the experimental work under the guidance of his supervisor, explained: “By introducing both lithium and sodium cations, we actually double the battery’s capacity that would otherwise be lower in a typical sodium-ion battery. This has never been done before on the anode materials we used, which are projected to have high capacity for sodium-ion batteries.”

The battery’s design allows lithium to act as a “capacity booster” within the electrolyte, supercharging a sodium-ion system while maintaining long-term stability. This approach not only improves energy density—critical for extending the range of electric vehicles—but also enhances safety and sustainability by reducing reliance on costly and environmentally challenging materials like cobalt.

Sodium-ion batteries have long been seen as a more sustainable alternative to lithium-ion batteries which currently power most commercial appliances, however sodium-ion batteries do not have the same energy density as lithium-ion, meaning a much poorer battery performance.

This exciting development means that sodium-ions can still be used to deliver high capacity. The lithium-ions and sodium-ions work in tandem during charge and discharge, and the cell can be cycled for up to 1000 cycles, making it a much greener and less expensive battery.

The research was supported by the Government of Ireland Postdoctoral Fellowship and the Research Ireland Frontiers for the Future programme. The team now plans to expand the study to explore new material combinations and ion systems, including silicon-based anodes and alternative ion pairings such as lithium-magnesium and potassium-lithium.

This breakthrough is the latest achievement from the Geaney Research Group, which is dedicated to developing new materials for energy storage applications. The group’s work focuses on lithium-ion and beyond lithium-ion batteries, with a particular emphasis on materials characterisation and design—placing them at the cutting edge of battery innovation.

With over 30 active researchers in UL’s battery cluster and the multidisciplinary AMPEiRE centre for battery and energy materials research, UL continues to lead in next-generation energy solutions.

ENDS

The article, ‘Synergistic Li-Na co-alloying for high-capacity, long-life, dual-alkali ion batteries’, by Syed Abdul Ahad, Hugh Geaney and others, has been published in the journal Nano Energy.