Will Liquid Metal Batteries Become the Standard for Large Batteries?

[ronwagn + 6,290]

https://ambri.com/benefits/#not-temperature-sensitive 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRyo0Nr7CrY&t=1415s

The Ambri Battery sounds like a contender when it can be kept at the temperature required to maintain liquidity. The materials are abundant and cheap. What would be the real world limitations to maintain the temperature needed? What would be the most logical applications? Stationary electricity storage is proposed. Waste  heat is commonly available, so using it near waste heat would make sense. 

[Eric Gagen + 713]

@ronwagn If I understand it right, this is a setup that doesn't have a freezing point in a range that we need to worry about.  I could be wrong though.  

[ronwagn + 6,290]

On 6/21/2021 at 3:03 PM, Eric Gagen said:

@ronwagn If I understand it right, this is a setup that doesn't have a freezing point in a range that we need to worry about.  I could be wrong though.  

It has to be hot enough inside to keep the salt melted since it is the barrier between the two liquid metal elements. So, I need to figure it out. The material backs you up. 

[Jay McKinsey + 1,490]

CATL is beginning production of sodium ion batteries. 

CATL chairman Robin (Yuqun) Zeng said the firm would start marketing sodium-ion batteries as early as late July, 2021. CATL is the largest producer of batteries in the world.

“Sodium-ion cells have a lower energy density, ~100-150Wh/kg, in comparison to lithium-ion cells’, 330Wh/kg,” says James Frith, head of energy storage at BloombergNEF, “So expect them to be used to replace lead-acid initially, in applications such as back-up power and two and three-wheelers.

“In the long run, stationary storage markets could be suitable for sodium-ion deployments.”

The UK Faraday Institution says: “Sodium-ion batteries are an emerging battery technology with promising cost, safety, sustainability and performance advantages over current commercialized lithium-ion batteries.

“Key advantages include the use of widely available and inexpensive raw materials and a rapidly scalable technology based around existing lithium-ion production methods. These properties make sodium-ion batteries especially important in meeting global demand for carbon-neutral energy storage solutions.”

 

Edited June 23, 2021 by Jay McKinsey

[Rob Plant + 2,756]

Looks like plenty are buying into Ambri's tech

https://www.energy-storage.news/news/ambris-liquid-metal-battery-to-be-used-at-desert-data-centre-in-nevada

[Eric Gagen + 713]

10 hours ago, ronwagn said:

It has to be hot enough inside to keep the salt melted since it is the barrier between the two liquid metal elements. So, I need to figure it out. The material backs you up. 

Either it's hot, or they are using some things in the battery that prevent the salt from solidifying - I have no idea if that's even possible, but there are a lot of ways to depress the freezing points of materials with a small amount of another material to prevent crystal nucleation and growth.  Or maybe it's both?