How we store that energy is a constant work in progress, and while scientists are making important but incremental advances with inventive new materials, others are out to entirely reinvent what we think of as a battery. Here are five of the most innovative examples from 2018.
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A new study shows how fluoride might be put to work in better batteries. Researchers at Caltech, JPL, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab and the Honda Research Institute have developed fluoride-based batteries that could potentially last much longer than existing lithium-ion-based devices.
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New research out of Rice University describes yet another promising possible solution to the problem of dendrite formation in lithium-based batteries, working a thin film of carbon nanotubes into the design as as way of drowning them out.
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Electronic devices typically have to be manufactured with existing rectangular or cylindrical batteries in mind – but what might be possible if that weren't the case? Scientists recently created proof-of-concept 3D-printed batteries, paving the way for batteries that could be made in any shape.
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While experimental sodium-ion batteries continue to show promise, there are a few kinks to be ironed out before we see them become commonplace. Researchers at Purdue University are claiming to have overcome one important shortcoming by first reducing the sodium to a powder form.
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As the world warms up, we can’t just keep belching all our carbon dioxide out into the atmosphere. Now researchers at MIT have found another way to reuse this unwanted element – build lithium-carbon dioxide batteries.
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Scientists have come up with a way to stop damaged lithium-ion batteries catching fire. The batteries effectively harden on impact, preventing the electrodes making contact and starting a fire.
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Thanks to a breakthrough by chemists at the University of Glasgow, the filling station of tomorrow could service electric and hydrogen-fueled cars from the same pump. They've developed a new battery system using nanomolecules that can produce either electricity or hydrogen on demand.
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So much of focus from researchers in lithium battery circles rests centers on the electrodes. Among them are scientists at Carnegie Mellon University, who have come up with a new way of 3D printing latticed electrodes they say result in an "unprecedented improvement."
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Striking a balance between common materials and efficiency is important for batteries, and regular old salt looks like it could fit the bill – after a few kinks are ironed out. Now, KAUST researchers have developed a way to make disordered graphene that can improve the sodium-ion battery recipe.
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