Page 36 - E-Newsletter

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Talking about the working principle behind it, he says, "to produce current,
magnesium loses two electrons to become magnesium ion, which then
migrates across the electrolyte, accepts two electrons from the antimony,
and then mixes with it to form an alloy. The electrons go to work in the real
world out here, powering our devices". He continued further discussing the
journey of the production of this battery, whereby he narrates how he got
his student to count on the idea and turm it into a reality. Depending on the
amount of output produced, he named his batteries 'shot-glass', 'hockey
puck', 'saucer', 'pizza', 'bistro table', in the increasing order of output power.
He finally wraps up the talk by stating what he learned from the whole
process:"Temperature: Conventional wisdom says set it low, at or near room
temperature, and then install a control system to keep it there. Avoid
thermal runaway. Liquid metal battery is designed to operate at elevated
temperature with minimum regulation. Our battery can handle the very
high temperature rises that come from current surges. Scaling: Conventional
wisdom says reduce cost by producing many. Liquid metal battery is
designed to reduce cost by producing fewer, but they'll be larger. And finally,
human resources: Conventional wisdom says hire battery experts, seasoned
professionals, who can draw upon their vast experience and knowledge. To
develop liquid metal battery, I hired students and post- docs and mentored
them." Considering the growth of his production, liquid-liquid battery
seems to be the most likely candidate to replace the existing lithium ion
battery.

Source:https://www.ted.com/talks/donald_sadoway_the_missing_link_to_
renewable_ene rgy/up-next?language=en