PI: Asal Saeidfar
Co-PIs: Zheng Yao and Carlos Romero
University: Lehigh University
Industry partner: Blaschak Anthracite Corporation
Despite the commercial dominance of lithium-ion batteries, interest in sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) is increasing. This growing interest is driven by several factors, including the abundance of sodium in the Earth’s crust, especially when contrasted with the limited distribution of lithium reserves, and the significantly lower cost of sodium, which is approximately 1% that of lithium. Meanwhile, global demand for battery capacity is rising rapidly to support large-scale energy storage for intermittent renewable energy sources, as well as the expanding energy requirements of artificial intelligence and data centers.
Battery performance is highly dependent on electrode material properties. Hard carbon emerged as a promising anode material for SIBs due to its low cost and large interlayer spacing, which are well-suited for sodium-ion batteries. However, poor initial coulombic efficiency and limited specific capacity hinder its practical commercialization. The electrochemical performance of hard carbon is strongly influenced by the chemistry of its precursor, particularly the type and distribution of oxygen functional groups. Precursors rich in unsaturated oxygen functional groups readily undergo bond cleavage and volatilization during carbonization, promoting structural rearrangement, while residual oxygen groups can participate in redox reactions and provide additional active sites for sodium-ion storage. Consequently, precise control over these functional groups represents an effective strategy for enhancing hard carbon performance.
Blaschak Anthracite Corporation is actively exploring new, value-added applications for its resources. In this project, the Lehigh University Energy Research Center (LU-ERC) and Blaschak Anthracite Corporation will collaborate to investigate anthracite as a low-cost precursor for hard carbon anodes in sodium-ion batteries. Anthracite is inherently classified as a hard carbon, and leveraging a precursor that possesses hard carbon characteristics is expected to enhance the technical success in developing high-performance SIB anodes. Moreover, the study will employ a controlled pre-oxidation process followed by thermal annealing at various temperatures under nitrogen and argon atmospheres. By establishing clear structure–property–performance relationships for anthracite-derived hard carbon anodes, this work aims to improve coulombic efficiency and specific capacity, advance the commercialization of SIBs, and support non-energy, value-added applications of anthracite.