Seawater batteries for energy storage, desalination and carbon sequestration
A Nature article reviews seawater battery technology, which can simultaneously store renewable energy, desalinate water, and capture carbon dioxide. The approach converts seawater into fresh water while sequestering carbon as solid minerals, offering a potential multi-functional solution for environmental challenges.
Background
- Seawater batteries are an emerging energy-storage technology that use sodium ions from seawater (instead of lithium) to charge and discharge, similar to how a lithium-ion battery works but with far more abundant raw materials.
- The same device can also desalinate water (removing salt) and capture carbon dioxide from the air or seawater during operation, effectively doing three jobs — energy storage, clean-water production, and carbon sequestration — in one system.
- Lithium-ion batteries dominate today's grid storage but rely on scarce, geopolitically concentrated lithium; seawater batteries avoid that bottleneck and add environmental benefits, though they remain at an early research stage with lower efficiency and shorter lifespan.
- This review article in *Nature* surveys recent progress and challenges, positioning seawater batteries as a multi-purpose tool for renewable energy grids, water-scarce regions, and climate mitigation — if engineering hurdles can be overcome.