Source: Interesting Engineering, 4/7/26
"Chinese researchers have just developed a revolutionary sodium battery that can effectively eliminate thermal runaway, one of the most dangerous failure modes, by forming a so-called smart firewall inside the cell. The research was carried out by scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). It was led by Yong-Sheng Hu, PhD, a professor at the Institute of Physics, who specializes in advanced materials for sodium-ion and lithium-ion batteries. For the project, the team built a self-protecting, non-flammable electrolyte that physically blocks thermal runaway in sodium-ion batteries. This marked the first time such a level of safety has been achieved in high-capacity cells."