Liquid Metal Batteries

Professor Donald Sadoway, the inventor of a version of the liquid metal battery.

"Batteries are an attractive option for grid-scale energy storage applications because of their small footprint and flexible siting. A high-temperature (700 °C) magnesium–antimony (Mg||Sb) liquid metal battery comprising a negative electrode of Mg, a molten salt electrolyte (MgCl₂–KCl–NaCl), and a positive electrode of Sb is proposed and characterized. Because of the immiscibility of the contiguous salt and metal phases, they stratify by density into three distinct layers. Cells were cycled at rates ranging from 50 to 200 mA/cm² and demonstrated up to 69% DC–DC energy efficiency. The self-segregating nature of the battery components and the use of low-cost materials results in a promising technology for stationary energy storage applications." The battery can be scaled to the size of a shipping container which can store approximately 2Mwh.