Lithium–antimony–lead liquid metal battery for grid-level energy storage

The integration of batteries into the electric grid is seen as possible means of regulating energy supply from intermittent sources such as wind or solar, but today's battery technologies are too expensive to do the job. An all-liquid battery, comprising a liquid negative electrode, a molten salt electrolyte, and a liquid positive electrode, is one of the technologies being investigated for this role. Here Kangli Wang and colleagues describe a new variant of the concept an all-liquid LiSbPb battery that, through careful choice and alloying of the component electrode materials, reduces operating temperatures and hence potential cost while retaining desirable performance characteristics.