The drooling part is that those batteries could be much less damaging when discarded. Even more, in a coastal area or a ship the danger of those batteries eventually ending in the water could be practically negligible by comparison with any traditional battery. And if done just with NA would be basically non poisonous for humans if reaching the food chain or water supply.
It they really work is a good leap in the right direction.
We must remember that some forms of NA will explode in a fire ball in contact with water.
Unfortunately, this battery still contains significant amounts of cobalt and nickel in the cathode, and battery electrolytes don't tend to be the type you want circling in your blood system - far from non poisonous.
It's valuable research, but still nowhere close to a superior end product.
It they really work is a good leap in the right direction.
We must remember that some forms of NA will explode in a fire ball in contact with water.