FORD DEVELOPED SOLID ELECTROLYTE

CD 2055009 E&MP1.023

Electric Battery

1967

Ford Motor Company has demonstrated a major breakthrough in its efforts to develop a feasible power source for electric vehicles. The heart of the new sodium-sulfur battery system is a Ford-developed crystalline ceramic electrolyte composed largely of aluminum oxide and based on a material known as beta-alumina. This material selectively passes sodium ions while containing all other liquids, including liquid sodium and liquid sulfur. The ceramic can be formed and sintered by commercially feasible techniques and its conductivity at operating temperatures -- 250 to 300 degrees centigrade -- compares favorably with electrolytes used in conventional battery systems such as sulfuric acid and potassium hydroxide.

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Original Caption by Science Service
^©Ford Motor Company