Molten salt battery advances

Conference · Thu Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1987

OSTI ID:6369865

Kaun, T D; Redey, L; Nelson, P A

In recent years, development of Li-alloy/metal sulfide cells with molten-salt electrolyte for high performance applications has concentrated on improvement of the electrode performance and cell capacity stability. New electrochemistries and porous electrode compositions have provided a strong foundation for further development of Li-alloy/dense upper-plateau (U.P.) FeS/sub 2/ (1.75 V) cells, as well as Li-alloy/FeS (1.32V) cells. (U.P. FeS/sub 2/ refers to the discharge reaction of FeS/sub 2/ to Li/sub 2/FeS/sub 2/.) A lithium-limited FeS cell has demonstrated 100 Wh/kg at a 3-h rate and 100 W/kg at 80% depth of discharge (DOD), while a dense U.P. FeS/sub 2/ cell is now capable of 175 Wh/kg at a 4-h rate and 200 W/kg at 80% DOD. Both types have demonstrated stable cycle life of greater than 400 cycles, with 1000 cycle-life expectancy. Earlier FeS/sub 2/ cells suffered from an appreciable ((0.1 to 0.25%/cycle) cell capacity decline rate, which has been eliminated by recent innovations. A new molten-salt electrolyte, LiCl-LiBr-KBr (m.p. 310/sup 0/C), improved performance and allowed a lower cell operating temperature of 400/sup 0/C, from 425 to 450/sup 0/C for earlier cells. Cell design flexibility, along with the high conductivity electrolyte and high energy density electrodes, offers a broad range of capability. A bipolar design with U.P. FeS/sub 2/ electrodes is projected to provide specific energy of 200 Wh/kg and specific power up to 5 kW/kg. Preliminary tests with a new cell design for reduced materials costs showed that the Li-Al/U.P. FeS/sub 2/ couple was capable of high specific energy in a rod-electrode configuration.

• Research Organization: Argonne National Lab., IL (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: W-31109-ENG-38
• OSTI ID: 6369865
• Report Number(s): CONF-870804-13; ON: DE87011402
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

25 ENERGY STORAGE
250903* -- Energy Storage-- Batteries-- Materials
Components
& Auxiliaries
ALKALI METAL COMPOUNDS
ALLOYS
ALUMINIUM ALLOYS
BROMIDES
BROMINE COMPOUNDS
CHALCOGENIDES
CHLORIDES
CHLORINE COMPOUNDS
ELECTRIC BATTERIES
ELECTROCHEMICAL CELLS
ELECTROLYTES
HALIDES
HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
IRON COMPOUNDS
IRON SULFIDES
LITHIUM ALLOYS
LITHIUM BROMIDES
LITHIUM CHLORIDES
LITHIUM COMPOUNDS
LITHIUM HALIDES
MOLTEN SALTS
POTASSIUM BROMIDES
POTASSIUM COMPOUNDS
SALTS
SULFIDES
SULFUR COMPOUNDS
TRANSITION ELEMENT COMPOUNDS