COSMOS MAGAZINE

The future of energy: 5  battery stories of 2024

Can a thumb-sized nuclear battery last 50 years?The race to build a nuclear battery is heating up, with a Chinese startup pitching a coin-sized device it says can keep producing a charge for 50 years.

Sustainable sodium – the next battery of the futureLithium takes most of the attention in the battery space, but for Professor Maria Forsyth, there is a host of opportunities in glancing just down the periodic table, to sodium.

Australian researchers have constructed a safe, cheap zinc battery – using an office laminator! They say their “aqueous zinc-ion batteries” could be recyclable, easy-to-make power sources for small devices.

Stretchy batteries for flexible, wearable technology?Two teams of scientists have announced they’ve made stretchy, jelly-like batteries. These batteries, which are made with very different methods, represent 2 possible paths to more widespread flexible electronics.