An aqueous manganese-lead battery for large-scale energy storage

With the increase in interest in energy storage for grid applications, a rechargeable battery, as an efficient energy storage/conversion system, has been receiving great attention. However, its development has largely been stalled by the issues of high cost, safety and energy density. Here, we report an aqueous manganese-lead battery for large-scale energy storage, which involves the MnO2/Mn2+ redox as the cathode reaction and PbSO4/Pb redox as the anode reaction. The redox mechanism of MnO2/Mn2+ was investigated to improve reversibility. All materials are inexpensive and the assembled battery can work well during the penetration test. The battery shows a discharge voltage of around 1.55 V, high rate capability, and no obvious capacity decay over 10 000 cycles. Furthermore, a high volumetric low energy density of 187 W h L-1 was obtained for a pouch battery using a high-concentration electrolyte comprising 3 M MnSO4. Meanwhile, the low freezing point of the high-concentration electrolyte endowed the battery with capability to work at a low temperature of -40 degrees C. Owing to the low cost and high electrochemical performance, the Mn-Pb battery has great potential for grid energy storage.