Calcium ‐ Ca ( AlCl₄ ) ₂ ‐ Thionyl Chloride Cell: Performance and Safety

The conductivity of solutions was determined at temperatures from −30° to +60°C. The maximum specific conductivities at −30°, 30°, and 60°C were found to be 3.25, 6.7, 8.7 mmho cm⁻¹, respectively. The discharge performance of sandwich‐like glass laboratory cells was determined at rates of 0.8–13 mA cm⁻²over this temperature range. Cell capacity at 25°C was 38 mA‐hr cm⁻² at 1 mA cm⁻² and 22 mA‐hr cm⁻² at 11 mA cm⁻². There was no loss of capacity on discharge at 60°C. At −20°C and 0.8 mA cm⁻² the cell delivers 80% of its 25°C capacity. It was estimated that the energy density of a "jelly‐roll" type cell will be 250–300 W‐hr kg⁻¹. The safety features of the cell were excellent as it was practically impossible to charge or overdischarge the cell. At a charging or a reversal voltage of 30V the corresponding current densities were smaller than 0.1 mA cm⁻².