Conventional lithium-ion secondary batteries have been widely used in portable electronic devices and are now developed for large-scale applications in hybrid-type electric vehicles and stationary-type distributed power sources. However, there are inherent safety issues associated with thermal management and combustible organic electrolytes in such battery systems. The demands for batteries with high energy and power densities make these issues increasingly important. All-solid-state lithium batteries based on solid-state polymer and inorganic electrolytes are leak-proof and have been shown to exhibit excellent safety performance, making them a suitable candidate for the large-scale applications. This paper presents a brief review of the state-of-the-art development of all-solid-state lithium batteries including working principles, design and construction, and electrochemical properties and performance. Major issues associated with solid-state battery technologies are then evaluated. Finally, remarks are made on the further development of all-solid-state lithium cells.

Electrode materials play a crucial role in determining the performance of an all vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB). In this paper, classification of VRFB electrode materials and associated research and developments are presented firstly, showing that materials with high corrosion resistance, low electric resistance, a large specific surface area and a high electrochemical activity are key aspects for VRFB electrodes. Focus is then on one of the most promising materials, carbon based electrode materials, including electrode preparation, modification, structure improvement, simulation, and key issues being addressed in the development of the carbon based electrodes. Finally, recommendations are made for future development of the electrode materials in terms of future commercialization of VRFB.

This bimonthly review paper highlights 100 recent published papers on lithium batteries. We searched the Web of Science and found 855 papers online from April 1,2013 to May 31,2013. 100 of them were selected to be highlighted. Layered oxide cathode materials,high voltage spinel and polyanion are still under extensive investigations. Large efforts were devoted to Si based anode materials, also to carboneceous anode materials. There are more papers for Li-S batteries instead of Li-O₂ batteries. For full cells, research works of SOH estimation, battery design and the mechnism of battery safety are presented. Calculations are done for electrode materials,Li-O₂ battery and electrolytes.

Shape-stabilized phase change materials (SSPCM) uses polymer as a matrix with the phase change materials dispersed in the matrix. SSPCM shows a solid state macroscopically and hence possesses some salient features including excellent mechanical properties, good processability and high safety. This paper provides a review on the SSPCM, including preparation, thermal conductivity enhancement and flame retardation. An assessment is then made on the use of the materials with a specific focus on energy saving in buildings.

This paper is concerned about the thermal stability of a lithium carbonate-sodium carbonate (40%Li₂CO₃-60%Na₂CO₃ by mass) based binary molten salt. A static fusion method was used to prepare the salt and the salt underwent 1010 cycles over a temperature range between 400 ℃ and 600 ℃ in an automatic thermal cycle test rig. Variation in phase change parameters and chemical compositions during the thermal cycles were analyzed by using DSC and XRD, respectively. The results show that the methodology for the thermal stability works well and primary composition of the molten salt is lithium sodium carbonate (LiNaCO₃) with the peak temperature of 499.1℃ and a latent heat of 365.5 J/g. The melting(freezing) temperatures of the binary molten salt show small fluctuations during repeated thermal cycling, and the phase change latent heat is reduced by 45.3 J/g. No new compositions were detected during the thermal cycling.

Numerical simulations were carried out on the discharging behaviour of a thermal energy storage water tank containing PCM modules and a tank containing only water. The modeling was done by using a CFD software package FLUENT. The results show that the cold inlet water can be heated by the PCM module during the discharging process and the PCM modules also act as a diffuser to reduce the disturbance caused by the inlet cold water. The PCM modules improve the thermal stratification of water during the discharging process. At a flow rate of 5 L/min, the discharging efficiency of the tank with PCM modules is 7% higher than that of the normal tank and the discharging efficiency of the water tank with PCM modules decreases with increasing water flow rate.

Phase transitions during charging/discharging processes are highly relevant to lithium storage mechanism, capacity range, voltage profiles, kinetic properties, volume variation and heat production. This article summarizes briefly research activities on phase transition during lithium extraction/insertion, and introduces calculation and experimental methods for phase diagram of Li-ion batteries.

The charge-transfer process is the basis of an electrochemical reaction. The knowledge about charge-transfer processes can help us to recognize to the inherent nature through the electrochemical reaction representation, and to achieve the control in the electrochemical industry and the electrochemical reaction design. In this paper, we reviewed the scientific background of electrochemical kinetic and development of the charge-transfer process, and rethought about their scientific idea. We believe that a historical review can be very helpful for our future research.

With the development of renewable energy,smart grid,distributed generation technologies,electric vehicles (EVs) have been widely regarded as a key energy storage infrastructure in the future power grid system. The high cost of electric energy storage is currently an outstanding barrier for their applications. Through a V2G configuration,EV batteries could offer a cost-efficient way of shaving the grid's peak load,regulating power frequency and smoothing renewables' generation. The large potential benefits of EV storage could in turn reduce the cost of EV application in transport sector and accelerate the electrification of road transport. This paper analyzes current EV storage technologies,infrastructure establishment and businesses models,and estimate the EV storage potentials and associated policy instruments.