Molten Salt Battery

Molten Salt Battery

Molten salt batteries are a class of primary cell and secondary cell high-temperature electric battery that uses molten salts as an electrolyte. In most cases the salt used is a sodium salt and they are then often referred to as a liquid sodium battery. They offer both a high energy density through the proper selection of reactant pairs as well as a high power density by means of a high-conductivity molten salt electrolyte.

These types of batteries are used where high energy density and high power density are required. These features make rechargeable molten salt batteries a preferred energy storage to balance out environment-dependent power plants (solar, wind, etc.). Historically, thermal batteries have often been used in guided weapon systems such as surface-to-air-missiles. Rechargeable molten-salt batteries are a promising technology for powering electric vehicles. With operating temperatures of 400 °C (752 °F) to 700 °C (1,292 °F), they have problems of thermal management and safety, and they place stringent requirements on the rest of the battery components. Some newer designs, such as the ZEBRA battery, operate at a lower temperature range of 245 °C (473 °F) to 350 °C (662 °F).