Battery Technology

A research team at Binghamton University, led by Professor Seokheun Choi, has developed a battery that dissolves safely in low pH environments. They published their findings in the journal Small.  About the battery The battery is powered by a 15-strain probiotic blend, which is harmless to humans and the environment. It is constructed with biodegradable…

Researchers have chased practical electric aviation for decades, especially for short‑haul routes, but progress remains slow. Projects such as all-electric helicopter Sikorsky Firefly (2010), the Airbus E-Fan (2017), the experimental aircraft NASA’s X-57 Maxwell (2023), and nine-passenger commuter Tecnam’s P-Volt (2023) stalled when current batteries proved too heavy, delivered too little energy, or degraded faster…

Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), in collaboration with TUMint.Energy Research, have set a new benchmark for solid-state battery electrolytes, introducing a lithium-antimony-scandium compound that shuttles lithium ions at 42 mS/cm. The breakthrough is detailed in a research article published April 28, 2025, in Advanced Energy Materials and a news announcement. In the…

Stellantis N.V. and Boston-based Factorial Energy have advanced their joint solid-state battery program with the internal validation of a 77-amp-hour, automotive-sized pouch cell built on Factorial’s FEST (“Factorial Electrolyte System Technology”) platform. The milestone clears an early technical hurdle for the partners as they work toward commercial deployment in future Stellantis electric vehicles. The newly…

Uncertainty surrounding U.S. tariff policy impacted R&D sectors this week, even as the broader market showed gains. The R&D World Index (RDWI) for the week ending April 11, 2025, closed at 3,585.25, up 2.25% (or 78.98 basis points). Performance among the 25 RDWI member companies was mixed, with twelve gaining value. Leading the pack was…

Imagine the process that turns liquid coffee into instant granules being used to power the future of energy storage. Researchers at the Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI) and the Korea Institute of Materials Science (KIMS) have done just that, adapting spray drying, a technique familiar from the food industry, to create high-capacity battery electrodes. This…

This past week, some of the world’s biggest R&D players doubled down on growth — Johnson & Johnson pledged $55B in U.S. investments, and AstraZeneca announced a new global R&D center in China — while others tightened their belts. Audi and Siemens both revealed significant job cuts, underscoring the shifting priorities in a fast-paced market…

Battery giant Duracell is moving its global Research and Development (R&D) headquarters to Atlanta’s Science Square Labs, marking a significant advancement for the region’s growing research and innovation landscape. The relocation, announced by real estate developer Trammell Crow Company (TCC), represents a major investment in battery technology and further strengthens Atlanta’s status as an emerging…

As the global race for clean energy solutions intensifies, two prominent U.S. universities are uniting to promote a technology often overlooked in the electric vehicle revolution: hydrogen-fueled internal combustion engines (ICEs). The University of Michigan and the University of California, Riverside, have announced the establishment of the Hydrogen Engine Alliance of North America (H2EA-NA), a…

One of the primary challenges of nuclear power is disposing of its waste, which stays radioactive for extended periods and poses risks to human health and the environment. Researchers at Ohio State University have developed a battery capable of converting nuclear waste into electricity, potentially offering a method to repurpose this hazardous material. Turning radiation…

The R&D World Index saw a slight gain last week amidst a landscape of innovation and cost-cutting within global industries. Pharma giants Eli Lilly and Merck announced a partnership with Purdue University to launch the Young Institute Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Consortium, aimed at bolstering domestic pharmaceutical production. However, automotive supplier Continental AG revealed further job cuts…

A new cathode material for all-solid-state fluoride-ion batteries (FIBs) delivers a reversible capacity of approximately 550 mAh/g. That’s more than double the 120–250 mAh/g typical of lithium-ion cathodes. A Japanese language article in Nikkei reported that the volumetric capacity of a cathode for such fluoride-ion batteries increased by roughly three times that of lithium-ion batteries.…

Researchers from the University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego) and the French lab CEA-Leti unveiled a novel microactuator driving system at the International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) 2025. The system combines solid-state battery technology with integrated circuit designs for simultaneous energy storage and voltage boost conversion. The research, detailed in the paper “An Autonomous…

ULVAC, a Tokyo-based vacuum technology company, has developed the EWK-030, a roll-to-roll lithium deposition system designed to create ultra-thin lithium films for next-generation batteries. The company claims this system will significantly improve battery performance, potentially leading to longer-range electric vehicles (EVs) and enhanced energy storage capabilities. The EWK-030 is slated for release in May 2025,…

Elevated Materials, a newly established company supported by TPG’s Rise Climate fund and Applied Materials, has entered the battery market. It focuses on producing ultra-thin, uniform lithium films. The company aims to enhance battery performance by leveraging decades of vacuum roll-to-roll processing expertise and hundreds of patents from Applied Materials. Its technology is designed to…

Researchers at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) are studying how electric vehicles (EVs) could be charged while in motion, addressing concerns like “range anxiety” and the growing demand for EV infrastructure. Their work, published in the journal IEEE Access, focuses on Dynamic Wireless Power Transfer (DWPT) roadways, which use transmitter pads embedded…

The battery industry is buzzing with activity as researchers explore alternatives like aluminum-ion and solid-state batteries, promising greater safety and sustainability. Toyota is preparing a battery plant in North Carolina for 2025, KORE Power has canceled a $1.2 billion Arizona gigafactory, and Octillion has opened a Nevada facility to meet demand. Nuvvon is advancing solid-state…

It might sound like battery geek-speak, but scientists have found a surprisingly straightforward way to push polyimide cathodes over the 200 mAh g⁻¹ mark. In essence, that involves making subtle adjustments to how many active sites exist, how easily they can be reached, and how reactive they are. By carefully engineering these molecular “sweet spots,” the Chinese…

As incidents of dangerous lithium-ion battery fires increase, regulators and manufacturers are scrambling for solutions. However, a common strategy — adding flame retardants to plastic battery casings — may fail to prevent fires and introduce serious health risks. A new Viewpoint published in Environmental Science & Technology argues that flame retardants in battery enclosures offer…

Welcome to our weekly briefing on R&D headlines for January 27, 2025. In this edition, we cover the disruption from China’s DeepSeek reasoning AI model R1, which punches above its weight class. Ostensibly trained on a shoestring budget, it outperforms OpenAI’s o1 by some measures, according to DeepSeek’s technical report. The company also has publicly…

Every day seems to bring new developments in rechargeable battery research, with teams racing to surpass conventional lithium-ion technology, which has significant room for enhancement. As the adoption of electric vehicles rises and the need for storing renewable energy becomes increasingly important, the search intensifies for safer, lighter, and more sustainable power sources. Recent breakthroughs…

A research team at the Korea Electrotechnology Research Institute (KERI) has reported progress in addressing longstanding challenges that have hindered the commercialization of lithium-sulfur batteries. Dr. Park Jun-woo led the team, which focused on the “shuttle effect,” lithium polysulfides formed during charging and discharging migrate between the electrodes. This phenomenon has often resulted in performance…

Lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries, often seen as a promising alternative to lithium-ion (Li-ion) technology, could offer higher energy densities and lower costs while using Earth-abundant materials like sulfur. However, significant hurdles, including short cycle life, material instability, and safety concerns, limit their commercial adoption. Potential and challenges of Li-S batteries Li-S batteries differ from Li-ion batteries…

Batteries have recently come in various configurations: stretchable, as discussed in R&D World’s article “Stretchable batteries and body-conformable electronics poised to advance in 2025,” and batteries using alternative chemistries, including lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) and sodium-ion (SIBs), among others. One battery material that might not have been on your bingo card is fungi. Researchers at Empa have…

Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), co-developers Element3 Mineral Selective Technologies, and the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County have developed a new method of extracting lithium from waste liquids. This method could potentially transform the production of this critical battery metal. The process uses readily available aluminum hydroxide as an effective adsorbent material.…