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Molten-salt batteries are a class of battery that uses molten salts as an electrolyte and offers both a high energy density and a high power density. Traditional non-rechargeable thermal batteries can be stored in their solid state at room temperature for long periods of time before being activated by heating. Rechargeable liquid-metal batteries are used for industrial power backup, special electric vehiclesand for grid energy storage, to balance out intermittent renewable power sources such as solar panels and wind turbines. In 2023, the use of molten salts as electrolytes for high-energy rechargeable lithium metal batteries was demonstrated. History Thermal batteries originated during World War II when German scientist Georg Otto Erb developed the first practical cells using a salt mixture as an electrolyte. Erb developed batteries for military applications, including the V-1 flying bomb and the V-2 rocket, and artillery fuzing systems. None of these batteries entered field use during the war. Afterwards, Erb was interrogated by British intelligence. His work was reported in "The Theory and Practice of Thermal Cells". This information was subsequently passed on to the United States Ordnance Development Division of the National Bureau of Standards. When the technology reached the United States in 1946, it was immediately applied to replacing the troublesome liquid-based systems that had previously been used to power artillery proximity fuzes. They were used for ordnance applications (e.g., proximity fuzes) since WWII and later in nuclear weapons. The same technology was studied by Argonne National Laboratories and other researchers in the 1980s for use in electric vehicles. Rechargeable configurations Since the mid-1960s much development work has been undertaken on rechargeable batteries using sodium (Na) for the negative electrodes. Sodium is attractive because of its high reduction potential of −2.71 volts, low weight, relative abundance, and low cost. In order to construct practical batteries, the sodium must be in liquid form. The melting point of sodium is 98 °C (208 °F). This means that sodium-based batteries operate at temperatures between 245 and 350 °C (470 and 660 °F). Research has investigated metal combinations with operating temperatures at 200 °C (390 °F) and room temperature. Sodium–sulfur The sodium–sulfur battery (NaS battery), along with the related lithium–sulfur battery employs cheap and abundant electrode materials. It was the first alkali-metal commercial battery. It used liquid sulfur for the positive electrode and a ceramic tube of beta-alumina solid electrolyte (BASE). Insulator corrosion was a problem because they gradually became conductive, and the self-discharge rate increased. Because of their high specific power, NaS batteries have been proposed for space applications. An NaS battery for space use was successfully tested on the Space Shuttle mission STS-87 in 1997, but the batteries have not been used operationally in space. NaS batteries have been proposed for use in the high-temperature environment of Venus. A consortium formed by Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) and NGK Insulators Ltd. declared their interest in researching the NaS battery in 1983, and became the primary drivers behind the development of this type ever since. TEPCO chose the NaS battery because its component elements (sodium, sulfur and ceramics) are abundant in Japan. The first large-scale field testing took place at TEPCO's Tsunashima substation between 1993 and 1996, using 3 × 2 MW, 6.6 kV battery banks. Based on the findings from this trial, improved battery modules were developed and were made commercially available in 2000. The commercial NaS battery bank offers: Capacity : 25–250 kWh per bank Efficiency of 87% Lifetime of 2,500 cycles at 100% depth of discharge (DOD), or 4,500 cycles at 80% DOD Sodium–nickel chloride (Zebra) battery A lower-temperature variant of molten-salt batteries was the development of the ZEBRA (originally, "Zeolite Battery Research Africa"; later, the "Zero Emissions Batteries Research Activity") battery in 1985, originally developed for electric vehicle applications. The battery uses NaNiCl2 with Na+-beta-alumina ceramic electrolyte. The NaNiCl2 battery operates at 245 °C (473 °F) and uses molten sodium tetrachloroaluminate (NaAlCl4), which has a melting point of 157 °C (315 °F), as the electrolyte. The negative electrode is molten sodium. The positive electrode is nickel in the discharged state and nickel chloride in the charged state. Because nickel and nickel chloride are nearly insoluble in neutral and basic melts, contact is allowed, providing little resistance to charge transfer. Since both NaAlCl4 and Na are liquid at the operating temperature, a sodium-conducting β-alumina ceramic is used to separate the liquid sodium from the molten NaAlCl4. The primary elements used in the manufacture of these batteries have much higher worldwide reserves and annual production than lithium. It was invented in 1985 by the Zeolite Battery Research Africa Project (ZEBRA) group at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in Pretoria, South Africa. It can be assembled in the discharged state, using NaCl, Al, nickel and iron powder. The positive electrode is composed mostly of materials in the solid state, which reduces the likelihood of corrosion, improving safety. Its specific energy is 100 Wh/kg; specific power is 150 W/kg. The β-alumina solid ceramic is unreactive to sodium metal and sodium aluminum chloride. Lifetimes of over 2,000 cycles and twenty years have been demonstrated with full-sized batteries, and over 4,500 cycles and fifteen years with 10- and 20-cell modules. For comparison, LiFePO4 lithium iron phosphate batteries store 90–110 Wh/kg, and the more common LiCoO2 lithium-ion batteries store 150–200 Wh/kg. A nano lithium-titanate battery stores 72 Wh/kg and can provide power of 760 W/kg. The ZEBRA's liquid electrolyte freezes at 157 °C (315 °F), and the normal operating temperature range is 270–350 °C (520–660 °F). Adding iron to the cell increases its power response. ZEBRA batteries are currently manufactured by FZSoNick and used as a power backup in the telecommunication industries, Oil&Gas and Railways. It is also used in special electric vehicles used in mining. In the past it was adopted in the Modec Electric Van, the Iveco Daily 3.5-ton delivery vehicle, the prototype Smart ED, and the Th!nk City. In 2011 the US Postal Service began testing all-electric delivery vans, one powered by a ZEBRA battery. In 2010 General Electric announced a Na-NiCl2 battery that it called a sodium–metal halide battery, with a 20-year lifetime. Its cathode structure consists of a conductive nickel network, molten salt electrolyte, metal current collector, carbon felt electrolyte reservoir and the active sodium–metal halide salts. In 2015, as a result of a global restructuring, the company abandoned the project. In 2017 C.... Discover the John K Amanchukwu popular books. Find the top 100 most popular John K Amanchukwu books.