By ESS news
A research team from HZDR in Germany has directly observed previously hidden aging processes in sodium-zinc-molten-salt batteries for the first time, using operando X-ray radiography to image the cells while they were actively working at around 600 C.
The technology has long been considered promising for stationary energy storage, given its low cost and availability of raw materials, but has so far failed to achieve the stability needed for real-world implementation.
The extreme operating temperature is in a sense a plus, because the metals are liquid at those temperatures and can be transported quickly through the cell. But those same dynamics make the systems difficult to control, and so far there is “no clear understanding of why the cells lose so much of their performance during operation,” according to HZDR researcher Norbert Weber, who coordinates the EU project SOLSTICE, under which various sodium-zinc storage concepts are being systematically investigated.
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