Development of molten chloride salt electrolytes in Na-ZnCl2 batteries for large-scale energy storage

Kurzfassung

This thesis aims to develop an efficient molten salt electrolyte mixture for Na-Zn liquid metal batteries to increase the life span, performance, and safety of the battery. Two types of batteries are studied. First is solid electrolyte battery, which is similar to the ZEBRA battery with beta alumina membrane and AlCl3-ZnCl2-NaCl as a salt mixture and second is the all-liquid battery, which has a diaphragm in the middle and liquid salt mixture CaCl2-ZnCl2-NaCl. The selected salt mixtures will be studied with the help of thermodynamic simulation software and the promising low melting point mixtures are selected. Moreover, the melting point will be measured by Differential Scanning Calorimetry(DSC) and OptiMelt, the mixtures will be tested for ionic conductivity with the help of Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy(EIS) and finally, the unit storage cost(USD/kWh) calculation will be done based on the simulation and experimental results to find the optimum salt mixture.