Current state of Na-Zn battery research

Within the Horizon 2020 project SOLSTICE, two molten salt battery concepts, based on sodium and zinc, are developed. The first cell relies on a solid Na-beta’’-alumina membrane, and is very similar to the commercially available ZEBRA batteries. Operating at 300°C, this design benefits from a wide range of knowledge available from these existing batteries. The second cell concept, a fully liquid battery, operates around 600°C. Due to its novelty, this design presents a larger number of challenges, such as corrosion, sealing and self-discharge. Once these are solved, the sodium-zinc battery can be employed as a very competitive and sustainable stationary energy storage device due to the lower costs, abundance and recyclability of the active materials. The talk will give an overview on the current state of research in the SOLSTICE consortium, the achievements and the remaining challenges in Na-Zn battery development.