A new type of seawater electrochemical cell may have unlimited storage capacity

Researchers from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology are working on an Anode-less seawater battery with a Sodium conducting solid polymer. Sodium-seawater batteries (Na-SWBs) are considered as one of the most promising next generation battery chemistries for application in large-scale stationary energy storage systems (ESSs), due to the use of abundant seawater as the cathode. The energy can be converted and stored as chemical energy through the Na-SWB system (power to metal – Na metal production) and, when required, reconverted, and used as electric energy. The researchers have designed a Na-ion conductive solid-state polymer electrolyte (Na-SPE) constituted by a mixture of PEO, Na-ion salt, and ionic liquid (IL). This electrolyte is combined with a Na superionic conductor (NASICON) solid electrolyte for the realization of a Na-SWB. The energy storage capacity of this device is therefore theoretically limitless, as harvested sodium may continually be removed from the anode without affecting the performance.





 

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