Production of Liquid Metal Battery Begins

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【Summary】Ambri, a startup, is set to put liquid metal batteries into service on the electrical grid next year. These batteries are cheaper and simpler than lithium ion batteries, using molten metal electrodes and molten salt electrolyte. They are durable, non-flammable, and retain 95% of their capacity after 20 years. The main challenge is sourcing antimony, but Ambri aims to bring costs down to compete with traditional power plants by 2030.

FutureCar Staff Aug 25, 2023 10:02 AM PT

Production of Liquid Metal Battery Begins

The field of clean energy generation is filled with promises of new technologies, but many of these innovations never make it to production. Whether it's due to cost issues, production challenges, or scalability limitations, breakthroughs often fail to materialize. While multi-layered solar panels, wave and tidal energy, and hydrogen fuel cells are all real technologies, they struggle to surpass lower-cost, simpler, and proven alternatives. However, one technology that seems to be defying this trend is the liquid metal battery, which will be deployed on the electrical grid by startup Ambri next year.

Ambri's battery technology is already poised to disrupt the market, with installation costs of around $405 per kilowatt-hour for lithium-ion batteries, while Ambri's batteries cost about half that. The construction method of Ambri's batteries is simpler than lithium-ion batteries, utilizing molten metal electrodes and a molten salt electrolyte. Not only is this design more durable, but it is also non-flammable and largely immune to degradation over time. Testing results indicate that after 20 years, the battery is expected to retain 95% of its capacity. The only potential obstacle to scaling this technology is the availability of antimony, one of the metals required for construction.

Although Ambri can produce their batteries for $180 to $250 per kilowatt-hour, they need to further reduce costs to around $20 to compete with "base load" power plants. Ambri projects that their costs will significantly decrease and reach this target by 2030, which would pave the way for electrical grids to be powered entirely by renewables. Liquid metal batteries are not the only unconventional battery technology attempting to solve this problem, however. Another promising energy storage technology on the horizon is phase-change materials.