Electric power is the most viable and widely implemented alternative to energy derived from fossil fuels.
However, its use in the transportation sector has been relatively limited.
The rechargeable lithium-ion batteries most commonly used in large-scale electronics result in degraded battery life and a progressively decreasing number of miles per charge as they age, making them less than ideal for long-term use.
Research teams from Nottingham University and six research institutes in China have developed a battery that has the potential to change the perspective of electrified transportation options and deliver a decisive push away from traditional fuels.
Scientists have created an energy store that pairs all of the benefits provided by solid-oxide fuel cells with an environmentally friendly metal-air form.
Molten salt batteries offer superior long-term performance
The newly developed metal-air battery uses molten salt as its electrolyte by using solid-oxide nano-powders to turn the potentially volatile substance into soft-solid salt, a much safer and stabler derivative.
Professor George Chen, Nottingham University’s study lead on the project, says that it was vital to refine the use of molten rock in order to optimise battery creation and function for both safe handling and superior performance, compared with rechargeable lithium-ion batteries.
In a recently published paper in Energy Storage Materials, the research teams explain that they use nanotechnology to create a flexible network of solid-oxide particles that results in quasi-solidification.
This network is capable of serving as a structural barrier to keep the molten salt electrolytes locked in without disrupting the substance’s ability to operate in extreme heat to conduct electricity.
These “encouraging results” have the potential to change the face of electronic vehicles thanks to the battery’s stability, safety, low cost and high performance.
Professor Chen explains his team’s hope for the molten salt metal-air batteries in the transportation industry: “The modified molten salt iron-oxygen battery has great potential applications in new markets, including electric transport and renewable energy which require innovative storage solutions in our homes and at grid-level.”
In addition, the battery is capable of storing both solar electricity and heat, a characteristic that is highly valued in industrial and domestic industrial energy needs alike, thanks to diverse benefits such as longer and more powerful charges, recyclability and cost-effectivity.
While additional research and experimentation is still needed, this promising development is a further step towards the common implementation of clean energy in transportation.
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