Zebra batteries?

[The Atomic Ass]

Is anyone currently making Zebra (Sodium Metal Chloride) batteries for consumer purchase?

[The Atomic Ass]

Anybody?

[MetroMPG]

Yes, apparently. But not at Pep boys... :P

Solartaxi - Zebra Battery

[The Atomic Ass]

Now here's a better question on this topic. Since the components of this battery are fairly easy to get, I wonder how difficult it would be to make one...

[rmay635703]

But is the energy wasted to heat worth it?

[MetroMPG]

Probably depends on the duty cycle. I bet the heat from charge/discharge does a lot to keep the electrolyte molten.

But if you drive infrequently...

When not in use, zebra batteries typically require being left under charge, in order to be ready for use when needed. If shut down, a reheating process must be initiated that may require up to two days to restore the battery pack to the desired temperature, and full charge. This reheating time will however vary depending on the state-of-charge of the batteries at the time of their shut down, battery-pack temperature, and power available for reheating. After a full shut down of the battery pack, three to four days usually elapse before a fully-charged battery pack loses all of its significant heat.

Also:

" Vehicles powered by ZEBRA batteries have covered more than 2 million km. Modec Electric Van uses ZEBRA batteries for the 2007 model. The Th!nk_City also uses Zebra batteries.[1]"

source: Molten salt battery - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[The Atomic Ass]

Originally Posted by rmay635703

But is the energy wasted to heat worth it?

I would have to run the battery under my own operating conditions to see what effect my driving cycle would have on it. But the company that builds them quotes a 17KWh module as having a parasitic heat loss of <110w, so a potential loss to heat of 2.64KWh daily, or 964KWh yearly, assuming no charge/discharge heat offset.

My plan would be to use solar panels on such a vehicle anyway, and be able to generate in excess of 5KWh per day. Ahh, my hopes and dreams which will never be fulfilled.

Also, as much as I like the energy density on some Lithium mixtures I've seen, they're still very voltage sensitive, and while certainly a vehicular pack should, I have no guarantee they'll last longer than my last laptop pack. Which was <3 years to unable to hold a charge. And in such a case I'd be money ahead on the Zebra battery. Really, at any point <10 years on the Lithium pack, I'd still be money ahead, even if that power to run the heat came from the grid.