New York: A new battery that uses low-cost materials like sodium and magnesium could bring the cost of storing power from renewable sources more affordable.


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The new device's energy density was also found close to that of lithium-ion batteries.


Storing electric power from wind and sun for days when the air is still or the sun is down remains a challenge, largely due to cost.


Today, lithium-ion batteries are the storage technology of choice for many applications, from electric cars to smartphones.


But the $3,000 price tag for the pack itself plus installation costs put it out of reach for most customers.


To make larger-scale energy storage more accessible, Maksym V. Kovalenko and colleagues wanted to develop an affordable alternative to lithium-ion.


The researchers started with magnesium as the battery's safe, inexpensive and high-energy density anode material and paired it with pyrite, which is made of iron and sulphur, as the cathode.


The electrolyte -- the electrically conducting component -- contains sodium and magnesium ions.


It could get an additional two- to three-fold boost with further development of magnesium electrolytes, researchers said.


And because it is made with low-cost materials, it could one day help support grid-scale energy storage, the researchers said.


The findings were published in ACS' journal Chemistry of Materials.