ICEPT staff and PhD students publish widely in a range of academic journals,  policy reports and technical papers. 

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BibTex format

@article{Johnson:2026:10.1016/j.est.2026.121663,
author = {Johnson, N and Buntoengpesuchsakul, C and Schmidt, O and Weber, N and Heinz, MVF and Staffell, I},
doi = {10.1016/j.est.2026.121663},
journal = {Journal of Energy Storage},
title = {The cost of sodiumzinc molten salt batteries for grid-scale energy storage},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.est.2026.121663},
volume = {159},
year = {2026}
}
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TY  - JOUR
AB  - AbstractDecarbonising power grids requires affordable storage to accommodate surplus wind and solar electricity over periods of hours to days. Batteries made from abundant elements offer a scalable solution. High-temperature molten salt devices such as sodiumnickel-chloride (Na-NiCl<inf>2</inf>) batteries are commercial, but their cost remains a barrier. Replacing nickel with cheaper zinc could enable the needed savings, but the techno-economic potential of sodium–zinc (Na–Zn) batteries remains untested. We present the first cost and performance assessment of a solid-electrolyte Na-ZnCl<inf>2</inf> battery. Using a bottom-up engineering model and Monte Carlo uncertainty analysis, we find a baseline 240-cell module achieves project-level capital costs of 246–273 USD per kWh capacity, and a levelised cost of storage (LCOS) of 164–195 USD per MWh delivered, if 2030 performance targets are met. These values undercut 2024 prices for stationary lithium-ion systems, and increasing cell capacity to 1.1 kWh or enlarging modules to 15,360 cells lowers LCOS by up to 30%, competitive with leading 4-hour lithium-ion forecasts. Sensitivity analysis shows manufacturing scale and inactive-material reduction outweigh raw-material price in driving cost, challenging the view that cheap zinc alone guarantees competitiveness. Our results provide a clear R&D roadmap and position sodiumzinc batteries as a mineral-lean complement to lithium-ion for reliable, long-duration, grid-scale energy storage.
AU  - Johnson,N
AU  - Buntoengpesuchsakul,C
AU  - Schmidt,O
AU  - Weber,N
AU  - Heinz,MVF
AU  - Staffell,I
DO  - 10.1016/j.est.2026.121663
PY  - 2026///
TI  - The cost of sodiumzinc molten salt batteries for grid-scale energy storage
T2  - Journal of Energy Storage
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.est.2026.121663
VL  - 159
ER  -
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