A liquid battery system that could potentially enable sources of renewable energy to compete with existing power generating processes has been improved by Donald Sadoway and his colleagues from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The researchers have already established a firm to manufacture electrical-grid-scale liquid batteries whose layers of molten substances separate automatically because of their different densities. The new formula, however, replaces the molten layers in a previously developed battery with various metals.

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The new system lets the power cell work at a temperature over 200 degrees Celsius, which is lower than the older versions of the battery said Sadoway, who is also the John F. Elliot Professor of Materials Chemistry.

He added that lowering the operating temperature of the power cell will extend the working life and design of the battery. The new recipe will be cheaper than the existing one.

The battery consists of two layers of metals in a liquid state separated by a layer of molten salt that functions as the cell's electrolyte. The electrolyte in batteries is the layer charged particles pass through when the cell is discharged or charged.

The materials are naturally separated into different layers as their densities are varied, much like how oil floats on top of water.

In the original battery design requires magnesium as one of the cell's electrodes and antimony for one another and needs anoperating temperature of at least 700 degrees Celsius. The new mixture uses one electrode made from antimony and lead and the other with lithium. As a result, the power cell can function at temperatures ranging from 450 and 500 degrees Celsius.

Previous tests on the battery suggest that even after 10 years of daily discharging and charging, the cell should be able to keep 85 percent of its starting efficiency. This will be a key factor if electric companies are to invest in the technology.

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