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MIT's Sodium Fuel Cell Powers Planes, Captures Carbon, and Outruns Batteries
- MIT researchers led by Prof. Yet-Ming Chiang developed a sodium-air fuel cell in 2025 that stores over three times the energy per weight of lithium-ion batteries.
- The device uses liquid sodium in one chamber that reacts with humid air in another, producing electricity and sodium oxide which captures carbon dioxide from aircraft exhaust.
- The prototype, about brick-sized and capable of 1,000 watt-hours, could power drones within a year and might scale to regional jets carrying 50 to 100 passengers for up to 300 miles.
- Chiang noted the fuel cell offers ‘environmental benefits at no cost’ due to built-in carbon capture and said, “If people don’t think something is totally crazy... it probably isn’t revolutionary.”
- Propel Aero, an MIT spinoff, aims to commercialize the technology despite challenges like safety and certification, suggesting sodium fuel cells could enable cleaner electric aviation in the future.
11 Articles
11 Articles
Prolific MIT materials professor develops a clean power source for airplanes made from... table salt? - The Boston Globe
Ultimately, a sodium-air fuel cell could power a regional jet carrying 50 to 100 passengers on flights as long as 300 miles, according to professor professor Yet-Ming Chiang.
Sodium batteries could make electric flight viable
Zero-emissions air travel may be one step closer after scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology unveiled a new type of sodium fuel cell that could one day make electric-powered flight viable.'Environmental benefits at no cost'The sodium-air fuel cell – designed by a team led by Yet-Ming Chiang, professor of materials science and engineering at MIT – works by combining liquid sodium metal with oxygen drawn from the air to create a …
MIT's Sodium Fuel Cell Powers Planes, Captures Carbon, and Outruns Batteries
MIT researchers have developed a revolutionary sodium–air fuel cell that could replace heavy lithium-ion batteries in aviation, rail, and marine transport. Using liquid sodium and ambient air, this system offers triple the energy density of current EV batteries — potentially enabling electric aircraft. The cell emits no carbon dioxide and even captures CO2 from the [...]
MIT researchers develop new fuel cell that could power electric aviation — General Aviation News
“We expect people to think that this is a totally crazy idea,” says Yet-Ming Chiang, a professor of materials science and engineering. “If they didn’t, I’d be a bit disappointed because if people don’t think something is totally crazy at first, it probably isn’t going to be that revolutionary.”
New Fuel Cell May Solve The Electric Airplane Range Issue
Batteries are heavy, and when used to power aircraft, as they expend energy, they don’t get lighter. Aviation-fueled aircraft do get lighter the longer they fly as their tanks drain. The getting lighter extends the distance they can travel. A battery-powered airplane, however, remains the same weight throughout a flight before landing to recharge. Recharging can take several hours before the airplane can fly again. If you owned an airline, an el…
While battery-electric drive systems work wonderfully well in cars and have proven suitable for everyday use, they reach their limits in heavy trucks, and even more so in aircraft and ships. Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), together with other partners, now claim to have found a solution. They have developed a new type of fuel cell that uses liquid sodium to generate electricity. Liquid sodium metal is inexpensive …
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