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Battery Technology and Materials Development for Grid Energy Storage

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A special issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 April 2022) | Viewed by 16388

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Guosheng Li

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Guest Editor

Energy Processes and Materials Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland, WA 99352, USA
Interests: developing rechargeable battery chemistries and devices for stationary energy storage and electric vehicle applications; in situ spectroscopic characterization for catalysts and cathode materials

Dr. Vincent Sprenkle

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Strategic Advisor and Program Manager for Grid Energy Storage Program at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Interests: grid energy storage; battery reliability; battery module testing

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The challenge of integrating intermittent renewable resources such as solar and wind power in electricity generation puts great demands on the development of energy storage systems (ESS). Although lithium ion battery with high energy density has been successfully implemented in portable consumer electronics and electric vehicles, its application in grid scale ESS is still under debate due to its high-cost, scarce resources (lithium, cobalt, etc.) and intrinsic safety concerns. Therefore, it is highly desired for the battery research community to develop other battery systems that can afford cost competitiveness, good reliability and high safety to meet the needs of future power grid and microgrid applications.

This special issue will cover different “beyond lithium ion” battery chemistries aimed at grid ESS. Considering your outstanding contribution in this emerging field, I would like to cordially invite you to submit a research paper or a mini review of your research to this special issue focusing on the following topics:

Sodium based batteries
Multivalent batteries including Al, Mg, and Zn batteries
Redox-flow batteries
Lithium-sulfur batteries and emerging molten lithium-metal batteries
Organic based batteries
Battery reliability and testing

The scope includes their material development, testing, modelling, applications, and economy analysis.

Dr. Guosheng Li
Dr. Vincent Sprenkle
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

Grid Energy Storage
Beyond Lithium-ion Battery
Redox Flow Battery
Sodium Battery
Magnesium Battery
Zinc Battery
Long Duration Battery
Battery Materials Characterization
Battery Reliability

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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11 pages, 4889 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effect of Cathode Microstructure on Electrochemical Properties of Sodium Nickel-Iron Chloride Batteries

by Byeong-Min Ahn, Cheol-Woo Ahn, Byung-Dong Hahn, Jong-Jin Choi, Yang-Do Kim, Sung-Ki Lim and Joon-Hwan Choi

Materials 2021, 14(19), 5605; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma14195605 - 27 Sep 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1786

Abstract

Sodium metal chloride batteries have become a substantial focus area in the research on prospective alternatives for battery energy storage systems (BESSs) since they are more stable than lithium ion batteries. This study demonstrates the effects of the cathode microstructure on the electrochemical properties of sodium metal chloride cells. The cathode powder is manufactured in the form of granules composed of a metal active material and NaCl, and the ionic conductivity is attained by filling the interiors of the granules with a second electrolyte (NaAlCl₄). Thus, the microstructure of the cathode powder had to be optimized to ensure that the second electrolyte effectively penetrated the cathode granules. The microstructure was modified by selecting the NaCl size and density of the cathode granules, and the resulting Na/(Ni,Fe)Cl₂ cell showed a high capacity of 224 mAh g⁻¹ at the 100th cycle owing to microstructural improvements. These findings demonstrate that control of the cathode microstructure is essential when cathode powders are used to manufacture sodium metal chloride batteries. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Battery Technology and Materials Development for Grid Energy Storage)

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18 pages, 8719 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Influence of 3d Transition Metal Doping on Lithium Stabilized Na-β″-Alumina Solid Electrolytes

by Cornelius L. Dirksen, Karl Skadell, Matthias Schulz, Micha P. Fertig and Michael Stelter

Materials 2021, 14(18), 5389; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma14185389 - 17 Sep 2021

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1934

Abstract

Na-β″-alumina is the commercially most successful solid electrolyte due to its application in ZEBRA and NAS^® batteries. In this work, Li-stabilized Na-β″-alumina electrolytes were doped with 3d transition metal oxides, namely TiO₂, Mn₃O₄, and NiO, in order to improve their ionic conductivity and fracture strength. Due to XRD and EDX measurements, it was concluded that Mn- and Ni-ions are incorporated into the crystal lattice of Na-β″-alumina. In contrast, TiO₂ doping results in the formation of secondary phases that enable liquid-assisted sintering at temperatures as low as 1500 °C. All dopants increased the characteristic fracture strength of the electrolytes; 1.5 wt% of NiO doping proved to be most efficient and led to a maximal characteristic fracture strength of 296 MPa. Regarding the ionic conductivity, TiO₂ doping showed the uppermost value of up to 0.30 S cm⁻¹ at 300 °C. In contrast to the other dopants, TiO₂ doping lowered the sintering temperature needed to obtain a dense, stable, and highly conductive Na-β″-alumina electrolyte suitable for applications in Na based batteries. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Battery Technology and Materials Development for Grid Energy Storage)

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10 pages, 9709 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Effects of a Sodium Phosphate Electrolyte Additive on Elevated Temperature Performance of Spinel Lithium Manganese Oxide Cathodes

by Minsang Jo, Seong-Hyo Park and Hochun Lee

Materials 2021, 14(16), 4670; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma14164670 - 19 Aug 2021

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2416

Abstract

LiMn₂O₄ (LMO) spinel cathode materials suffer from severe degradation at elevated temperatures because of Mn dissolution. In this research, monobasic sodium phosphate (NaH₂PO₄, P2) is examined as an electrolyte additive to mitigate Mn dissolution; thus, the thermal stability of the LMO cathode material is improved. The P2 additive considerably improves the cyclability and storage performances of LMO/graphite and LMO/LMO symmetric cells at 60 °C. We explain that P2 suppresses the hydrofluoric acid content in the electrolyte and forms a protective cathode electrolyte interphase layer, which mitigates the Mn dissolution behavior of the LMO cathode material. Considering its beneficial role, the P2 additive is a useful additive for spinel LMO cathodes that suffer from severe Mn dissolution. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Battery Technology and Materials Development for Grid Energy Storage)

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13 pages, 2270 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Evaluating ZEBRA Battery Module under the Peak-Shaving Duty Cycles

by Nimat Shamim, Edwin C. Thomsen, Vilayanur V. Viswanathan, David M. Reed, Vincent L. Sprenkle and Guosheng Li

Materials 2021, 14(9), 2280; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma14092280 - 28 Apr 2021

Cited by 10 | Viewed by 2553

Abstract

With the recent rapid increase in demand for reliable, long-cycle life, and safe battery technologies for large-scale energy-storage applications, a battery module based on ZEBRA battery chemistry is extensively evaluated for its application in peak shaving duty cycles. First, this module is tested with a full capacity cycle consisting of a charging process (factory default) and a discharging process with a current of 40 A. The battery energy efficiency (discharge vs. charge) is about 90%, and the overall energy efficiency is 80.9%, which includes the auxiliary power used to run the battery management system electronics and self-heating to maintain the module operating temperature (265 °C). Generally, because of the increased self-heating during the holding times that exist for the peak shaving duty cycles, the overall module efficiency decreases slightly for the peak-shaving duty cycles (70.7–71.8%) compared to the full-capacity duty cycle. With a 6 h, peak-shaving duty cycle, the overall energy efficiency increases from 71.8% for 7.5 kWh energy utilization to 74.1% for 8.5 kWh. We conducted long-term cycling tests of the module at a 6 h, peak-shaving duty cycle with 7.5 kWh energy utilization, and the module exhibited a capacity degradation rate of 0.0046%/cycle over 150 cycles (>150 days). Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Battery Technology and Materials Development for Grid Energy Storage)

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Review

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24 pages, 5373 KiB

Open AccessReview

Stabilizing Metallic Na Anodes via Sodiophilicity Regulation: A Review

by Chenbo Yuan, Rui Li, Xiaowen Zhan, Vincent L. Sprenkle and Guosheng Li

Materials 2022, 15(13), 4636; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma15134636 - 01 Jul 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1893

Abstract

This review focuses on the Na wetting challenges and relevant strategies regarding stabilizing sodium-metal anodes in sodium-metal batteries (SMBs). The Na anode is the essential component of three key energy storage systems, including molten SMBs (i.e., intermediate-temperature Na-S and ZEBRA batteries), all-solid-state SMBs, and conventional SMBs using liquid electrolytes. We begin with a general description of issues encountered by different SMB systems and point out the common challenge in Na wetting. We detail the emerging strategies of improving Na wettability and stabilizing Na metal anodes for the three types of batteries, with the emphasis on discussing various types of tactics developed for SMBs using liquid electrolytes. We conclude with a discussion of the overlooked yet critical aspects (Na metal utilization, N/P ratio, critical current density, etc.) in the existing strategies for an individual battery system and propose promising areas (anolyte incorporation and catholyte modifications for lower-temperature molten SMBs, cell evaluation under practically relevant current density and areal capacity, etc.) that we believe to be the most urgent for further pursuit. Comprehensive investigations combining complementary post-mortem, in situ, and operando analyses to elucidate cell-level structure-performance relations are advocated. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Battery Technology and Materials Development for Grid Energy Storage)

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18 pages, 5047 KiB

Open AccessReview

Recent Progress in Cathode Materials for Sodium-Metal Halide Batteries

by Xiaowen Zhan, Minyuan M. Li, J. Mark Weller, Vincent L. Sprenkle and Guosheng Li

Materials 2021, 14(12), 3260; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/ma14123260 - 12 Jun 2021

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 4713

Abstract

Transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources is a critical goal to address greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. Major improvements have made wind and solar power increasingly cost-competitive with fossil fuels. However, the inherent intermittency of renewable power sources motivates pairing these resources with energy storage. Electrochemical energy storage in batteries is widely used in many fields and increasingly for grid-level storage, but current battery technologies still fall short of performance, safety, and cost. This review focuses on sodium metal halide (Na-MH) batteries, such as the well-known Na-NiCl₂ battery, as a promising solution to safe and economical grid-level energy storage. Important features of conventional Na-MH batteries are discussed, and recent literature on the development of intermediate-temperature, low-cost cathodes for Na-MH batteries is highlighted. By employing lower cost metal halides (e.g., FeCl₂, and ZnCl₂, etc.) in the cathode and operating at lower temperatures (e.g., 190 °C vs. 280 °C), new Na-MH batteries have the potential to offer comparable performance at much lower overall costs, providing an exciting alternative technology to enable widespread adoption of renewables-plus-storage for the grid. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Battery Technology and Materials Development for Grid Energy Storage)

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