Could a room-temperature sodium-sulfur battery reduce energy storage costs?

They say it is far cheaper to produce and offers the potential to dramatically reduce energy storage costs. An international research team has fabricated a room-temperature sodium-sulfur (Na-S) battery to provide a high-performing solution for large renewable energy storage systems.

Are sodium-sulfur batteries a viable energy storage alternative?

Sodium-sulfur batteries have long offered high potential for grid-scale stationary energy storage, due to their low cost and high theoretical energy density of both sodium and sulfur. However, they have also been seen as an inferior alternative and their widespread use has been limited by low energy capacity and short life cycles.

Are room-temperature sodium-sulfur batteries suitable for grid-scale stationary energy storage?

Room-temperature sodium–sulfur (RT-Na/S) batteries possess high potential for grid-scale stationary energy storage due to their low cost and high energy density.

Are rechargeable room-temperature sodium–sulfur and sodium-selenium batteries suitable for large-scale energy storage?

You have full access to this open access article Rechargeable room-temperature sodium–sulfur (Na–S) and sodium–selenium (Na–Se) batteries are gaining extensive attention for potential large-scale energy storage applications owing to their low cost and high theoretical energy density.

How much does a sodium-sulfur battery cost?

An average cost of $ 661/kWh was determined for 2018 sodium-sulfur costs, with a 2025 cost of $ 465/kWh assuming a decrease of 30 percent. Table 19 provides capital cost estimates for sodium-sulfur batteries from the literature. Table 19. Capital cost estimates—sodium-sulfur technology. 5.5.2. Fixed and Variable O&M Costs and Performance Metrics

What is a sodium-sulfur battery?

Sodium-sulfur batteries are mature electrochemical energy storage devices with high-energy densities. According to Aquino et al. (2017), they are primarily provided by a single Japanese-based vendor—NGK Insulators—which, to date, has installed 450 MW of the technology worldwide [ 12 ].