Scientists achieve massive breakthrough on an alternative to #LithiumIon batteries — why this 'significant advancement' matters

by Laurelle Stelle, January 13, 2026

"Researchers have recently discovered a way to make an efficient battery out of #zinc — an inexpensive, commonly found metal — instead of the #RareMetals used in lithium batteries.

"Most rechargeable batteries today are lithium-ion batteries, which include other metals like cobalt and nickel, Tech Xplore reports. As electric vehicles (#EVs) and large-scale energy storage get more common, we'll need more and more of those metals — but because they're uncommon, the costs are often massive.

"Many researchers are working on cheaper battery options to reduce or replace these metals. One Chinese company has created a car powered by a #SodiumBattery, and a University of Maryland researcher has invented a partly #BiodegradableBattery made of zinc and #CrabShells. Researchers have even found not one but two ways to store energy in ordinary #sand.

"According to Tech Xplore, this new project, led by Xiulei 'David' Ji of Oregon State University, offers yet another alternative to lithium-ion batteries: accessible, efficient zinc metal batteries.

"The secret is a new electrolyte developed by Ji and his team, Tech Xplore explains. A battery electrolyte is a liquid inside the battery that helps aid the chemical reactions to store and release energy.

"Unfortunately, past electrolytes in #ZincBatteries were not very efficient. Much of the energy stored in the battery was previously used up in extra, unwanted chemical reactions. Not only did that mean the battery couldn't release as much energy as it had put into it, but it also generated dangerous hydrogen gas. This meant that zinc wasn't practical for #RechargeableBatteries.

"Ji's team has created a new electrolyte formula that almost eliminates these unwanted reactions, Tech Xplore reports. It forms a protective coating on the zinc component of the battery that prevents that type of energy loss. A similar protective coating is what allows lithium-ion batteries to release more than 99% of the charging energy. The new zinc battery releases 99.95% of the energy it is charged with on each cycle.

"Not only is the zinc battery efficient, but it's also safer than a lithium-ion battery, according to Tech Xplore. The new electrolyte isn't flammable, while the ones used in lithium-ion batteries often are combustible. Both zinc and the components of the electrolyte are also cheaper and more common than the materials used in lithium-ion batteries.

" 'The breakthrough represents a significant advancement toward making zinc metal batteries more accessible to consumers,' Ji told OSU News and Research Communications. "These batteries are essential for the installation of additional solar and wind farms. In addition, they offer a secure and efficient solution for home energy storage, as well as energy storage modules for communities that are vulnerable to natural disasters.

"Thanks to the work of Ji and his team, Tech Xplore suggests rechargeable zinc batteries are likely to hit the market in the near future."

Source:
https://tech.yahoo.com/science/articles/scientists-just-made-massive-breakthrough-121500329.html

#SolarPunkSunday #LithiumBatteryAlternatives #ZincBatteries #BiodegradableBatteries #CrabShells #Cobalt #Nickel #Lithium #Technology #TechnologyBreakthrough

ChargeCap Helps Your Batteries Last Longer By Limiting Charge Level

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://hackaday.com/2026/05/14/chargecap-helps-your-batteries-last-longer-by-limiting-charge-level/

Teardown: ChargeTab Emergency Phone Charger

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://hackaday.com/2026/05/14/teardown-chargetab-emergency-phone-charger/

No to já bych obyvatelům nevětrat doporučil taky. Výpary ze 2 starých lithium iontových monočlánků mi ROZLEPTALY GLAZURU na KERAMICKÉ dóze, v které jsem ji skladoval do té míry, že jsem ji seškrábnul prstem jako med. A způsobily ZČERNÁNÍ KERAMICKÉ dózy ZVENKU ač baterie byla uložena UVNITŘ.

Lithium iontové baterie - je to budoucnost!

"Nevětrejte, šíří se toxické zplodiny, varují hasiči na Jičínsku "

CCN Prima News, https://cnn.iprima.cz/pozar-skladu-baterii-hasici-maji-pro-mistni-durazne-varovani-512068

#lithium #lithiumion #battery #batteries #toxic

The battery miracle online is doing the most

Dear Cherubs, the internet has once again discovered a battery so perfect it sounds like it came from a pitch deck written by a caffeinated intern and approved by gravity itself. The specific 90-second charge, 99.7% storage retention, and 5,000-cycle package circulating online was not verifiable from primary sources I checked, so the smart move is to treat it as a viral claim, not a finished breakthrough.

Reality check

What is real is the bigger trend: solid-state batteries replace the flammable liquid electrolyte used in conventional lithium-ion cells with a solid ion conductor, which can improve safety and potentially raise energy density. MIT has been making that case for years, while also pointing out that the interface between materials is still the part where the dream gets stuck in traffic.

That interface problem is not a footnote. MIT’s recent coverage says solid-state cells are still plagued by dendrites that can short-circuit the battery, and a 2020 MIT review lays out the rest of the mess: chemical stability, mechanical stability, processing, and long-term performance. In other words, the field is advancing, just not in the magical “plug in for 90 seconds and disappear for six months” way social media likes to sell it.

DOE’s battery overview says solid-state batteries can be safer because they are less prone to leakage from damage or swelling in hot temperatures, but it also notes that some designs still use a little liquid at the cathode to reduce interfacial resistance. Translation: progress, yes. Fairy dust, no.

Why it matters

The good news is that the field is moving. In 2025, Stellantis and Factorial Energy said they validated automotive-sized solid-state cells with 375 Wh/kg energy density and fast charging from 15% to 90% in 18 minutes, with a demonstration fleet planned for 2026. That is not “two-minute EV charging,” but it is a serious step forward, which is how real engineering usually behaves when nobody is trying to go viral.

So the right takeaway is not that battery problems have been solved. It is that researchers keep making the hard part less impossible. If the viral post was pointing at a real advance, it was probably one brick in a wall, not the wall itself. The upside is still huge: safer packs, longer life, and faster charging. The downside is that physics remains deeply committed to being inconvenient.

Sources:
MIT Department of Materials Science and Engineering — https://dmse.mit.edu/news/why-solid-state-batteries-keep-short-circuiting/
MIT News — https://news.mit.edu/2017/toward-solid-lithium-batteries-0202
MIT Review PDF — https://ecm.mit.edu/pubs/articles/10.1002_aenm.202002689.pdf
U.S. Department of Energy — https://www.energy.gov/cmei/ammto/breaking-it-down-next-generation-batteries
U.S. Department of Energy — https://www.energy.gov/cmei/ammto/breaking-it-down-next-generation-batteries
Stellantis — https://www.stellantis.com/en/news/press-releases/2025/april/stellantis-and-factorial-energy-reach-key-milestone-in-solid-state-battery-development
Wikimedia Commons image source — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:All-Solid-State_Battery.png

#BurlingtonVT startup #NthCycle scores billion-dollar metal #recycling deal

By Hiawatha Bray Globe Staff, March 17, 2026

"Both Nth Cycle and Ascend have developed water-based technologies to extract metals by reprocessing 'black mass,' the ground-up remnants of worn-out #lithiumIon batteries. They can also use the leftover scrap generated by battery manufacturers. Both companies claim that their technologies can capture these metals while generating far less #ToxicWaste than other recycling methods."

Read more:
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2026/03/17/business/lithium-nickel-cobalt-recycling-us-china/

Archived version:
https://archive.ph/6PoQj

#SolarPunkSunday #MetalRecycling #LithiumRecycling #LionBatteries #BatteryRecycling #NickelRecycling #CobaltRecycling #Recycling #NoMining #Reuse