Molten salt batteries (“liquid sodium” batteries) that use liquid sodium as the anode have been studied for the powering of electric vehicles and most recently for energy storage and load-balancing of environment-dependent power plants (solar, wind, etc.). However, due to the high operating temperatures (e.g., >300° C.) needed to maintain good kinetics in the solid electrolyte and solid cathode (NiCl2) materials, they encounter problems of thermal management and safety, and also impose stringent requirements on the rest of the battery components.