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Content archived on 2022-12-27

SODIUM/SULPHUR BATTERY FOR ENERGY STORAGE

Objective

To manufacture and evaluate a sodium/sulphur battery for energy storage on the electricity user's premisis to suplement the power required during peak consumption periods. Financial savings would be realised by charging the battery during off-peak periods and limiting the peak demand from the electricity supplier. The batteries would be charged in periods of low consumption (and low tariff rates) and be discharged during periods of high consumption. The na/s battery is advantageous for this application because it is leak-proof, maintenance free, cheap when mass produced and much lighter than lead/acid or ni/fe batteries of the same energy capacity.

The project comprises the construction of a 20 kWh sodium/sulphur battery and the cycling test of this battery. The battery must be able to deliver a continuous 10 kW power and 20 kW peak power. It will be composed of 540 basic elements of 20 ah each with a mid-discharge voltage of 1.88 V. These elements will be designed for high rate discharge. The completed battery will be rated at 55 V and 360 ah. Its efficiency is expected to be 85%. The specific energy of the completed battery, including thermal management, will be approximately 150 Wh/kg (cf 35 Wh/kg for lead/acid and 60 Wh/kg for ni/fe).
Each element consists of a cylinder containing liquid sodium, as one electrode, inside a solid aluminium tube serving as the electrolyte and surrounded by a sodium sulphide and graphite mixture which forms the other electrode. The cell operates at approximately 330 deg. C.
The battery will be constructed of 9 modules in a 3 x 3 series/parallel arrangement. Each module will consist of 10 x 6na/s elements in series/parallel. The testing of the battery will be done by cycling it twice a day for two months at the laboratoires de Marcoussis and then for at least a year at a user's permises. Each cycle will consist of charging for 6 hours and discharging for 2 hours. The remaining part of the day the battery will be left open-circuit.

Call for proposal

Data not available

Coordinator

Compagnie Générale d'Electricité (CGE)
EU contribution
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Address
Route de Nozay
91460 Marcoussis
France

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Total cost
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