Sodium–sulfur battery
Sodium–sulfur battery Cut-away schematic diagram of a sodium–sulfur battery A sodium–sulfur (NaS) battery is a type of molten-salt battery that uses liquid sodium and liquid sulfur
A sodium–sulfur (NaS) battery is a type of molten-salt battery that uses liquid sodium and liquid sulfur electrodes. This type of battery has a similar energy density to lithium-ion batteries, and is fabricated from inexpensive and low-toxicity materials.
vs. 948 GWh for lithium-ion batteries. Poor market adoption of molten sodium-sulfur batteries has possibly been due to perceived safety and durability issues, such as a short cycle life of fewer than 1000 cycles on average (although there are reports of 15 year operation with 300 cycles per year).
Despite their very low capital cost and high energy density (300-400 Wh/L), molten sodium–sulfur batteries have not achieved a wide-scale deployment yet compared to lithium-ion batteries: there have been ca. 200 installations, with a combined energy of 5 GWh and power of 0.72 GW, worldwide. vs. 948 GWh for lithium-ion batteries.
Due to the high operating temperature required (usually between 300 and 350 °C), as well as the highly reactive nature of sodium and sodium polysulfides, these batteries are primarily suited for stationary energy storage applications, rather than for use in vehicles.
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