Designing battery success from failure

Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists are developing a formula for success – by studying how a new type of battery fails. The team’s goal is the design for long-term storage of wind and solar energy, which are produced intermittently, enabling their broader use as reliable energy sources for the electric grid. 

Batteries store and release energy as ions shift between electrodes, usually through a liquid electrolyte. However, ORNL researchers engineered a battery in which sodium ions travel through a more durable and energy-packed solid electrolyte made with enhanced conductivity. 

Solid electrolytes are considered the next frontier of batteries, if scientists can address challenges such as understanding how they fail in high-demand conditions. The ORNL-led team ran the battery under high current or voltage within the powerful X-ray beam. At the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne National Laboratory, researchers observed ions depositing in pores of the electrolyte, eventually forming structures that cause a short circuit.

“We can use this information to understand how to improve this really promising solid electrolyte material that could support storing renewable energy for longer periods,” said ORNL researcher Mengya Li.