In China, energy storage facility using sodium batteries is already in operation. This is a 10 MWh station, which is a more economical technology for mass energy storage, and is located in Nanning, Guangxi. This plant was inaugurated on May 11, as announced by China Southern Power Grid Energy Storage.
The storage plant will reduce emissions
The storage station was built by the Guangxi branch of China Southern Power Grid as part of the initial phase of a larger project that will reach 100 MWh. When the project is completed, the station will be able to generate 73 million kWh of clean energy annually , enough to power 35,000 homes and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 50,000 tons.
The cumulative installed capacity of new energy storage projects in China reached 35.3 million kWh, with the electrochemical storage process, including lithium-ion batteries , accounting for more than 95% of this capacity.
On the other hand, sodium-ion batteries , which share similar electrochemical mechanisms as lithium-ion batteries, offer certain advantages. Both batteries store and release energy by reversible insertion and removal of cations between the positive and negative electrodes. The anode of both batteries is carbon, but they differ in the cathode material, that is, lithium-ion batteries use lithium ions, while sodium batteries use sodium ions.
Advantages and operation of batteries
During charging, sodium ions move from the cathode to the anode through the electrolyte and separator, storing energy, then when discharged, the sodium ions move in the opposite direction, releasing energy into the electrical system. Sodium ion batteries feature abundant and low cost of raw materials, better performance at low temperatures, and are particularly suitable for large-scale storage, explained China Southern Power Grid Energy Storage.
Furthermore, when applied on a large scale, the cost of sodium battery energy storage could be reduced by 20% to 30%, reaching a cost per kWh of electricity of 0.2 RMB ($0.0276), a significant progress for the promotion of new energy storage technologies, according to Chen Man, technical expert of China Southern Power Grid.
Sodium batteries: lower cost and higher efficiency
The 10 MWh storage system uses 210 Ah sodium ion battery cells, capable of charging to 90% in just 12 minutes . The project’s R&D team developed a thermal management system that keeps the temperature difference between more than 22,000 sodium battery cells within 3 degrees Celsius, extending the thermal runaway propagation time from 30 minutes to 2 hours.
Changing sodium ion batteries means a technological advance, and is an economic and environmental strategy. Therefore, by using more abundant and accessible materials, dependence on more scarce and expensive resources, such as lithium, could be reduced, achieving a more sustainable industry.
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Source and photo: cnevpost
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