Nickel chloride batteries

ZEBRA technology (invented in 1985 by the group ZEolite applied to Battery Research Africa headed by Johan Coetzer in Pretoria, South 

8 A Na-S battery comprises several elements coimected in series and/or in parallel. These elements are placed in a thermal enclosure equipped with electrical resistors to keep the reaction temperature at around 300°C. 

9 A fire occurred with a Na-S battery made by Tepco (Tokyo Electric Power Company) on 21 September 2011, leading NGK to request the provisional shutdown of all Na-S batteries. 

Africa)io is a variant of sodium-sulfur technology where sulfur is replaced with a metal chloride such as NiCl2 (nickel chloride) or FeCU. It was specifically developed for applications in electric vehicles, freight transport and public transport the ZEBRA battery is more particularly intended to serve buses and utility vehicles. As with the Na-S battery, the vibrations felt in a vehicle may cause premature aging of the ceramic/metal interface. Today, such batteries are also being considered for stationary applications. 

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Strong contenders for automotive power are the sodium/sulphur and sodium/ nickel chloride batteries, the latter known as the ZEBRA cell. ZEBRA was originally (c. 1979) an acronym devised for commercial security reasons but now it stands for the very apt Zero Emissions Batteries Research Activity . Several European car manufacturers including BMW and Mercedes have incorporated the ZEBRA cell into prototype cars, vans and buses. The performance of the battery far outstrips that of the lead/acid counterpart, as is evident from Fig. 

H. Hammerling, Recycling of Sodium/Nickel Chloride Batteries, presented at the DOE Ad Hoc Advanced Battery Readiness Working Group, August 30-31,1994. 

In nickel chloride batteries (section 12.3), sodium is in the external compartment. 

The main characteristics of nickel chloride batteries are given below, quoted for the models which are commercially available at present ... 

In 2011, General Electric in the USA began producing nickel chloride batteries under the name Durathon. They are intended for grid-connected renewable energy storage, telecoms applications and, more generally, backup power supply and industrial transport needs. 

The cost of nickel chloride batteries is approximately 350-- 380/kWh for a pack. 

One example is the Mercedes-Benz 5-seater 190 Electro car which develops up to 32 kW (44 hp), has a maximum speed of 115 km/h and an operating range of 150 km. The sodium-nickel chloride batteries were chosen over nickel-cadmium and sodium-sulfur alternatives. The car is shown in Fig. 9.14. 

Polymer electrolytes can also be regarded as ion-conducting separators. A semipermeable membrane that only allows the permeation of sodium ions (Na ) is the alumina that simultaneously acts as separator and electrolyte in sodium/sulfur or sodium/nickel chloride batteries (Chapter 10). 

FIGURE 40.5 Schematic diagrams of reference sodium-beta cell and battery configurations (d) monopolar sodium/sulfur cell (SPL XPB cell), and (b) a sodium/nickel-chloride battery Diagram (b) is courtesy of MES-DEA SA). 

This section on battery-ievel information is organized the same as Sec. 40.3. That is, battery-ievei design considerations specific to the sodium/sulfur technology are presented first. Then, brief descriptions of modern battery configurations and performance for both sodium-beta technologies are provided. For reference, a schematic diagram of an integrated sodium/ nickel-chloride battery system was shown previously in Fig. 40.5b. 

J. Prakash, L. Redy, P. Nelson, and D. Vissers, High Temperature Sodium Nickel Chloride Battery for Electric Vehicles, Electrochemical Society Proceedings, 96 14, (1996). 

The 2.6 V sodium-nickel chloride battery is at the pilot plant production stage as a possible battery for electric passenger vehicles and buses. Eagle Richer are leading workers in this field. Over 1000 charge-discharge cycles have already been achieved. 

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