Mass transport and solutal convection in a sodium-zinc molten salt battery with liquid electrolyte: comparison of modelling and experiments

Within the Horizon 2020 project SOLSTICE, a molten salt battery has been developed. The battery employs sodium and zinc as anode and cathode respectively and operates at around 600 oC with a completely liquid interior. The primary advantage of this design is its low materials’ cost. However, multiple challenges must be overcome if it is to become commercially viable. These include corrosion of metallic components by the molten salt electrolyte, and self-discharge promoted by transport of cathode materials (Zn2+ ions) to the anode. Efforts to suppress the latter especially benefit from modelling, as the rate of self-discharge is primarily determined by mass transport processes in the electrolyte. Such models require experimental validation, thus, a small-scale experimental cell has been constructed for this purpose. It has been designed specifically for operation during analysis by radiographic methods (neutron beam and X-ray imaging). The distribution of the active materials can be observed at different stages of the charging-discharging cycle. This presentation will provide an overview of current modelling activities at HZDR related to the sodium-zinc battery, together with first (preliminary) experimental results and the most recent progress towards designing a “transparent” cell.