Lavender Waste Transformed into Sodium Battery Anode for Low-Cost Energy Storage

An international research team has successfully converted 1,000 to 1,500 tons of discarded lavender flowers annually into hard carbon (HC) for use as a high-performance anode material in sodium-ion batteries (SIBs). The study found that electrochemical pre-sodiation effectively addresses the insufficient "sodium reservoir" commonly observed in biomass-derived materials, significantly enhancing battery performance. Thanks to the preservation of lavender’s natural microstructure during conversion, electrolyte permeability is improved and sodium-ion diffusion is accelerated, thereby boosting the battery’s charge/discharge rate and efficiency. This breakthrough offers a new pathway toward low-cost, sustainable energy storage technologies.