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Molten-Salt Battery Freezes Energy Over a Whole Season

Cars That Think

As the pressure to decarbonize electricity grids mounts, so does the need to have long-term storage options for power generated from renewables. Scientists have been looking for solutions in gravity energy storage , thermal or geothermal storage , and also molten-salt batteries.

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New long-duration, extended capacity Na-Al battery design for grid storage

Green Car Congress

The new battery design could help ease integration of renewable energy into the electrical grid at lower cost, using Earth-abundant metals, according to a study just published in Energy Storage Materials. The new sodium-based molten salt battery uses two distinct reactions. of peak charge capacity.

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The Case for Nuclear Cargo Ships

Cars That Think

The European Union plans to begin charging shippers for carbon emissions this year. Researchers are considering three different types: a lead-cooled fast reactor, a uranium-fueled, helium-gas-cooled reactor, and a molten-salt-cooled reactor, shown here [below, at bottom]. One is a thorium-fueled molten-salt reactor.

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Energy storage: the key to a decarbonised future

Setec Powerr

We are transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, and the use of energy storage is becoming more widespread. Technologies include energy storage with molten salt and liquid air or cryogenic storage. So what exactly is energy storage? This article will answer your confusion.

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PNNL: single-crystal nickel-rich cathode holds promise for next-generation Li-ion batteries

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The PNNL researchers have developed a process to grow high-performance crystals in molten salts—sodium chloride, common table salt—at high temperature. The gliding occurs as the battery charges and discharges—lithium ions depart and return to cathode, straining the crystal ever so slightly each time.

Li-ion 418
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Convert Oil Wells to Solve the Solar Storage Problem

Cars That Think

The idea, says Daniel Codd , a researcher in renewable energy systems at the University of California, San Diego, is to store solar-produced heat in rock formations below the surface, creating a solar-charged geothermal resource in which heat is stored for meaningful durations.

Oil 120
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Thermal Energy Storage Is No Longer Just Hot Air

Cars That Think

Energy storage has two main factors—how fast it can be charged and discharged (the spigot) and how much total energy it can hold (the bathtub). The startup Kyoto Group , based in the Netherlands, is targeting this industrial use of heat with their thermal storage system, which stores energy in the form of molten salt.