Research
The first sodium-sulfur-based battery in Hungary was handed over on Tuesday in Csillebérc at the Central Institute of Physical Research of the Academy of Sciences (MTA).
Attila SteinerState Secretary for Energy and Climate Policy in the Ministry of Energy (Ml), stressed that cooperation in the energy sector is becoming increasingly important. The first sodium-sulfur-based battery in Hungary is the result of a tender announced in 2021. While the installed capacity of solar energy in Hungary was around 3,000 MW three years ago, this figure has now doubled – this target was not actually supposed to be achieved until 2030. At the beginning of the next decade, the installed capacity might already rise to 12,000 MW. On some days, the country is already able to cover its electricity needs with solar and nuclear energy and is even an electricity exporter at times.
Alternative technologies needed
Grids and energy storage are playing an increasingly important role in the field of renewable energy. In addition to lithium energy storage, alternative technologies are also needed. One possibility is the sodium-sulphur-based battery, which is of great importance due to the country’s energy sovereignty. A tender worth 62 billion forints will contribute to the expansion of industrial energy storage capacities. Ákos HorváthDirector General of the HUN-REN Energy Research Center (EK, Mr), said: “New technologies are needed in the field of renewable energy; cooperation between research institutes, universities and industrial partners is indispensable in this research.”
The delivery of the first sodium-sulfur-based battery in Hungary was made possible by MVM’s cooperation with the HUN-REN research network and its Research Center for Energy Sciences, the Budapest Technical University and Pannon University, as well as the Japanese production partner NGK Insulators Ltd.
The state supported the project with 500 million forints. Roland JakabCEO of the research network HUN-REN (l.), pointed out that the innovative storage of electrical energy promotes Hungary’s climate neutrality. Renewable energy is often not generated when needed, which is why a storage capacity of several hours is required. This is one of the reasons why the battery based on sodium-sulfur technology, which is made of materials with low specific costs and is relatively cheap compared to other energy storage devices, can be of great importance.
Long service life, low maintenance costs
Since the electrodes of sodium-sulfur batteries (NA-S) consist of liquid sodium and sulfur, they operate at a high temperature of 290-360°C. Their advantage is that their components sulfur, sodium and aluminum oxide are abundant, unlike lithium. They are characterized by a long service life of up to 20 years and low maintenance costs. More and more countries are interested in the technology, and the range of applications is also expanding.
The Japanese company NGK Insulators Ltd. – represented by its Vice President Hideaki Saitoand the associated inverters from the Swiss company Indrivetec AG arrived at the research center, the KFKI campus, in February. After the battery and inverters were connected to each other and to the local power and communications network and put into operation, testing of the energy storage system will begin in July and will continue until the end of the year. The energy storage system for demonstration purposes enables the storage of 1.45 MWh of electricity.
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