Disclosed is a lithium primary battery using a composite electrolyte, wherein, in order to maximize advantages of a lithium thionyl battery and a lithium sulfonyl battery, electrolytes of the two batteries are mixed to proceed two-stage discharging, thereby making it possible to check the battery usage.

An electricity generating system includes a first electrode located at a first location in a body of salt water and a second electrode located at a second location in the body of salt water. The first and second electrodes may be of the same or different materials and are designed to present a large surface area to the body of water. A direct current flows between the two electrodes which is a function of the salinity of the water and the composition of the electrodes. The direct current is applied to the input port of a converting device which may be any suitable power inverter which can produce a output AC voltage corresponding to the direct current or a DC to DC converter to produce an output DC voltage corresponding to the direct current.

An electricity generating system includes a first electrode located at a first location in a body of salt water and a second electrode located at a second location in the body of salt water. The first and second electrodes may be of the same or different materials and are designed to present a large surface area to the body of water. A direct current flows between the two electrodes which is a function of the salinity of the water and the composition of the electrodes. The direct current is applied to the input port of a converting device which may be any suitable power inverter which can produce a output AC voltage corresponding to the direct current or a DC to DC converter to produce an output DC voltage corresponding to the direct current.

Electrochemical systems for harvesting heat energy, and associated electrochemical cells and methods, are generally described. The electrochemical cells can be configured, in certain cases, such that at least a portion of the regeneration of the first electrochemically active material is driven by a change in temperature of the electrochemical cell. The electrochemical cells can be configured to include a first electrochemically active material and a second electrochemically active material, and, in some cases, the absolute value of the difference between the first thermogalvanic coefficient of the first electrochemically active material and the second thermogalvanic coefficient of the second electrochemically active material is at least about 0.5 millivolts/Kelvin.

Alkaline electrochemical cells are provided, wherein methods to decrease or eliminate shorting in batteries by preventing zinc oxide reaction precipitate from creating a conductive bridge between the two electrodes. The alkaline electrochemical cell comprises solid zinc oxide particles in the anode and dissolved zinc oxide or zinc hydroxide in one or more of the catholyte, the anolyte, and the free electrolyte. Optimally, the solid zinc oxide particles have a large Brunauer, Emmett, and Teller (BET) surface area and/or a large median particle size (D50). The cells may also comprise a certain amount of surfactant in the separator.

Alkaline electrochemical cells are provided, wherein methods to decrease or eliminate shorting in batteries by preventing zinc oxide reaction precipitate from creating a conductive bridge between the two electrodes. The alkaline electrochemical cell comprises solid zinc oxide particles in the anode and dissolved zinc oxide or zinc hydroxide in one or more of the catholyte, the anolyte, and the free electrolyte. Optimally, the solid zinc oxide particles have a large Brunauer, Emmett, and Teller (BET) surface area and/or a large median particle size (D50). The cells may also comprise a certain amount of surfactant in the separator.