New Design for the Nickel/Sodium Chloride Battery

Na/Ni/Cl2电池是服务车辆和固定应用中锂电池的有竞争力的替代品。它提供高能量密度，并依赖于现成的材料。然而，在目前的设计中，钠电池的运行能量密度不到理论能量密度的20%。这可以通过修改设计来增加。提出的设计设想了一种金属-陶瓷复合结构来包裹阳极和阴极。阳极将是一块含有液态钠的多孔金属。阳极上的陶瓷涂层将把钠和阴极分开。阴极将被封装在镍壳中，通过夹紧或焊接的方式与阳极相连。阴极的组成最初将与目前的电池相同，可能会随着长期研究而改变。在这个项目中，阳极主机将选择合适的材料。它将由粉末冶金技术（压制和烧结）制成。电解质涂层将采用传统的陶瓷加工技术。该装置的组装将需要冲压、钎焊和焊接等制造技术。电池将在充电和放电状态之间循环进行测试。将评估当前的效率和退化情况。在进行单节电池试验之后，将建造一个4节电池。由于该技术已应用于电动汽车和可再生能源的存储，预计将对化石燃料的消耗，二氧化碳的减少和环境的改善产生重大影响。这些电池使用来自加拿大的镍，当地技术的发展可以促进国内电池工业的发展。

The Na/Ni/Cl2 battery is a competitive alternative to lithium batteries for service vehicles and stationary applications. It provides high energy density and relies on readily available materials. In its current design, however, the sodium battery operates at less than 20% of its theoretical energy density. This could be increased by a modification of design.The proposed design envisages a metal-ceramic composite structure to enclose both the anode and cathode. The anode will be a block of porous metal that contains the liquid sodium. A ceramic coating on the anode will separate the sodium from the cathode. The cathode will be contained in a nickel case attached to the anode by a clamping or welding. The composition of the cathode will initially be the same as current batteries, potentially changing with long term research.In this project, a suitable material will be chosen for the anode host. It will be made by powder metallurgy techniques (pressing and sintering). The electrolyte coating will be applied by conventional ceramic processing techniques. Assembly of the device will require manufacturing technologies such as stamping, brazing and welding. The battery will be tested by cycling between charge and discharge states. Current efficiency and degradation will be assessed. Single cell tests will be followed by construction of a 4-cell battery.Since this technology has applications for electric vehicles and storage of renewable energy, it is expected to have a major impact on fossil fuel consumption, CO2 reduction and improvement of the environment. These batteries use nickel from Canadian sources and the development of local technology could promote a domestic battery industry.