COMPARATIVE PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS OF METAL-AIR BATTERIES WITH CAST AND POROUS ELECTRODES

Currently, the development of electrochemical energy storage systems plays a key role in meeting the growing demand for electric power. Metal-air batteries (MAB) with high specific energy capacity are considered as promising solutions for use in power plants as backup power sources. One of the main limitations of their widespread implementation is the need to improve the efficiency of anode materials. In this paper, we propose the use of porous aluminum electrodes to improve the performance of MAB. Two types of porous anodes manufactured using different technologies were studied. For the powder aluminum anode, the current density was 20–30 mA/ cm², which is comparable to the performance of a monolithic (standard) anode. At the same time, foam aluminum demonstrated higher current density values  of 52–64 mA/cm². An additional advantage of porous anodes is their reduced weight (by 10–30%), which helps to improve the weight and size characteristics of MAB and opens up opportunities for creating more efficient energy systems.

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