(Oak Ridge National Laboratory: Oak Ridge, TN) -- Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists are developing a formula for success by studying how a new type of battery fails. The team’s goal is the design for long-term storage of wind and solar energy, which are produced intermittently, enabling their broader use as reliable energy sources for the electric grid. 

Batteries store and release energy as ions shift between electrodes, usually through a liquid electrolyte. However, ORNL researchers engineered a battery in which sodium ions travel through a more durable and energy-packed solid electrolyte made with enhanced conductivity. 

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