A battery technology that’s getting a lot of attention is solid-state batteries, lithium-ion batteries that replace the liquid electrolyte with a solid material.
Grid scale batteries would be better served by Nickel-Iron batteries with pumped electrolyte. They don’t have a fire risk like Li-ion and can be discharged to 0% without damage. The downside is the electrolyte needs changing frequently (daily to weekly) but for a grid scale battery bank, that isn’t an issue, just trickle through new electrolyte at a constant rate.
It’s not a solution for vehicles or portable devices, but for big batteries we shouldn’t be looking at solid state.
Why not go the opposite direction entirely?
Grid scale batteries would be better served by Nickel-Iron batteries with pumped electrolyte. They don’t have a fire risk like Li-ion and can be discharged to 0% without damage. The downside is the electrolyte needs changing frequently (daily to weekly) but for a grid scale battery bank, that isn’t an issue, just trickle through new electrolyte at a constant rate.
It’s not a solution for vehicles or portable devices, but for big batteries we shouldn’t be looking at solid state.
Sure, but why not sodium which is much better.
they’re already way ahead of you: https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/china-battery-makers-bet-big-sodium-move-away-critical-minerals--ecmii-2026-03-16/