Japanese scientists achieve 20% increase over lithium-ion batteries using sugar

Scientists at the Tokyo University of Science have revealed they are working on sodium-ion batteries, which can be created from refined sugar, claiming they have achieved a 20% increase in energy storage capacity over equivalent lithium-ion batteries.

According to Inhabitat, the batteries are created by heating sugar at extremely high temperatures to create hard carbon, which in turn can be used to create sodium ion.

The scientists claim the new material could potentially have additional advantages, including lower prices due to a more abundant supply.

However, it is anticipated that commercial use of the technology is at least five years away.