Global InformationZEBRA battery information
The ZEBRA battery is a type of rechargeable molten salt battery based on commonly available and low-cost materials – primarily nickel metal, the sodium and chloride from conventional table salt, as well beta-alumina solid electrolyte. It is technically known as the sodium–nickel–chloride battery, and sometimes as a sodium–metal–halide battery. The common name comes from its development under the Zeolite Battery Research Africa (ZEBRA) project, started in South Africa in 1985.
ZEBRA batteries need to be kept hot (300 °C is often used) because sodium metal melts at 98 °C and because the NaAlCl4-based electrolyte melts above 150 °C). Also such elevated temperature increases the ionic conductivity of beta-alumina solid electrolyte. Due to the thermal management reasons, ZEBRA batetries are only practical when built in large formats. They have been examined primarily for grid energy storage and to a lesser degree for electric vehicles. The ZEBRA is a simpler, safer and less expensive alternative to the otherwise similar sodium–sulfur battery, although it offers less energy density, about 90 to 120 Wh/kg compared to as much as 150 Wh/kg for sodium–sulfur. ZEBRA and sodium–sulfur both compete with better-known systems, like lithium–iron–phosphate and lithium–sulfur in these same roles.
The ZEBRA design saw on-and-off development since the 1980s, with major research being carried out in the AERE Harwell and AEG during the 1990s. After Daimler purchased AEG and then merged with Chrysler, the ZEBRA division was sold off. AERE's development was spun off as Beta R&D and purchased by General Electric in 2011. GE tried to launch commercial production of molten sodium–nickel–chloride battery under the name Durathon,[1] but it scrapped this project in 2015, citing market rather than technical difficulties.[2][3] The only producer of sodium-metal chloride (SMC) batteries is now FZSoNick.[4]
Daimler came back to ZEBRA batteries in 2006, to develop an Electric Drive version of the Smart ForTwo, still using the first generation type 450 body style. The ED1 ran on 13.2 kilowatt hours of sodium-nickel chloride Zebra batteries operating at 245 °C (473 °F). It is typically kept molten and ready for use because if allowed to "freeze" it takes twelve hours to reheat and charge. Thus it is not very useful for private owners, but rather in fleets of taxis, police cars[5] and other vehicles that are operated by multiple users. Field testing began in London with 100 vehicles in 2007[6] and was available only for lease to corporate clients for £375 per month.[7] From 2009 onwards, Smart used Lithium Ion, with Tesla providing the battery packs for the ED2 car sharing fleet, and Daimler producing their own cells for the 2012 to 2015 ED3 series, the first Smart EV version that was actually sold to the public.
- ^ St. John, Jeff (22 January 2015). "GE Scales Back Production of Grid-Scale Durathon Batteries". GTM.
- ^ Stanforth, Lauren (9 January 2016). "GE proclaims success, despite battery plant closure". timesunion.com. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
- ^ Rogers, Megan (13 November 2015). "GE ending Durathon battery manufacturing in Schenectady". bizjournals.com. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
- ^ Zhan, X.; Li, M. M.; Weller, J. M.; Sprenkle, V. L.; Li, G. "Recent progress in cathode materials for sodium-metal halide batteries". Materials (MDPI). 2021. 14/12/3260. 10.3390/ma14123260
- ^ "The world's most interesting electric police cars | Move Electric".
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
GCC0610was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Andrew Anthony (21 March 2009). "Smart Fortwo Ed: Is the future a Smart one?". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 June 2010.