Actually, e.g. sodium could be great for energy storage as a metal as well. There are long expired Lockheed patents about how to turn sodium with water directly

Actually, e.g. sodium could be great for energy storage as a metal as well. There are long expired Lockheed patents about how to turn sodium with water directly into electricity. Other processes, that already work on industrial scale could recycle the product of that reaction sustainably back into sodium metal. The energy density of sodium is a bit less than e.g. ammonia, methane or liquid hydrogen but it is quite easy to produce without any fossil fuel consumption, it is easy to handle it at room temperature and normal pressure. The sodium hydroxide solution is not too bad if e.g. spilled on some land or in the ocean - it will neutralize quite quickly and on land even add needed minerals. Yes, it burns with water but otherwise isn't very flammable and you don't get vapour problems as with gasoline (e.g. when you fill a large tank). Sodium also melts just below the boiling point of water so it even could be feasible to transport using a pipeline (it would just need some insulation) - e.g. you could use it instead of water steam to transfer heat as well. But this is secondary. If you are interested to read more about how these facts could be used more globally, read more here: https://www.orgpad.com/s/energiewende https://www.orgpad.com/s/energiewende