Molten-salt battery

FZSoNick 48TL200: sodium–nickel battery with welding-sealed cells and heat insulation

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 vehicles[citation needed]and 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.[1][2]

  1. ^ Phan, An L; Jayawardana, Chamithri; Le, Phung ML; Zhang, Jiaxun; Nan, Bo; Zhang, Weiran; Lucht, Brett L; Hou, Singyuk; Wang, Chunsheng (August 2023). "Solvent‐Free Electrolyte for High‐Temperature Rechargeable Lithium Metal Batteries". Advanced Functional Materials. 33 (34). doi:10.1002/adfm.202301177. hdl:1903/30697. ISSN 1616-301X.
  2. ^ Vu, Minh Canh; Mirmira, Priyadarshini; Gomes, Reginaldo J.; Ma, Peiyuan; Doyle, Emily S.; Srinivasan, Hrishikesh S.; Amanchukwu, Chibueze V. (December 2023). "Low melting alkali-based molten salt electrolytes for solvent-free lithium-metal batteries". Matter. 6 (12): 4357–4375. doi:10.1016/j.matt.2023.10.017. ISSN 2590-2385.