Cell design strategies for sodium-zinc chloride (Na-ZnCl2) batteries, and first demonstration of tubular cells with 38 Ah capacity

•strategies to design sustainable battery technology based on zinc and rock salt.•integrated Zn/NaCl electrodes into state-of-the-art tubular high-temperature cells (38 Ah).•identified cost benefits for an alternative inside-out cell design.•demonstrated cycling of large tubular Na-ZnCl2 cells (∼30 Ah/cycle).•reduced voltage fading by cycling ≤80% SOC.