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Renewable energy sources like wind and solar are critical to sustaining our planet, but they come with a big challenge: They don't always generate power when it's needed. To make the most of them, we need efficient and affordable ways to store the energy they produce, so we have power even when the wind isn't blowing or the sun isn't shining.

Columbia Engineering materials scientists have been focused on developing new kinds of batteries to transform how we store renewable energy. In a new study published in Nature Communications, the team used K-Na/S batteries that combine inexpensive, readily-found elements—potassium (K) and sodium (Na), together with sulfur (S)—to create a low-cost, high-energy solution for long-duration energy storage.

"It's important that we be able to extend the length of time these batteries can operate, and that we can manufacture them easily and cheaply," said the team's leader Yuan Yang, associate professor of materials science and engineering in the Department of Applied Physics and Mathematics at Columbia Engineering. "Making renewable energy more reliable will help stabilize our energy grids, reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, and support a more sustainable energy future for all of us."

New electrolyte helps K-Na/S batteries store and release energy more efficiently

There are two major challenges with K-Na/S batteries: They have a low capacity because the formation of inactive solid K 2 S 2 and K 2 S blocks the diffusion process and their operation requires very high temperatures (>250°C) that need complex thermal management, thus increasing the cost of the process. Previous studies have struggled with solid precipitates and low capacity and the search has been on for a new technique to improve these types of batteries.

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