‘Stretchable' toothpaste-like battery offers flexible future for gadgets
Rigid, bulky batteries could one day be replaced by soft, flexible ones, a new paper argues.
Scientists at a Swedish university have created a new form of soft, fluid-based battery that can be shaped to meet any form, according to findings published on Friday in Science Advances.
'The texture is a bit like toothpaste,' coauthor Aiman Rahmanudin said in a statement.
That flexible quality means the ability to 3D-print the battery in any form — opening up the way for 'a new type of technology,' Rahmanudin added.
In its current form, the battery is far from ready for industrial use. It can store just under 1 volt — less than 8 percent the voltage of a standard car battery.
But Rahmnudin argued that it has demonstrated a breakthrough in flexibility — and that increasing the voltage can be done by adding commonly available metals, like zinc or manganese.
Consumer product forecasters see a pressing need for such solutions. Some industry estimates suggest that nearly 40 billion devices worldwide will be connected to the internet by 2033 — twice the number as in 2023.
That forecast demand for consumer electronics, wearable medical devices or soft robotics has driven research into new kinds of flexible batteries beyond the current metallic boxes and cylinders that now define the market.
New technologies require not just long storage life but 'power sources that can bend and flex without compromising performance or durability,' according to a December survey in Science Bulletin
That made it essential to design battery materials 'that can endure repetitive folding, twisting, and stretching,' the scientists in that December study noted.
In the race to provide such materials, scientists are experimenting with flexible batteries using both familiar chemistries — lithium-ion and sodium-ion — as well as more novel ones, like zinc-ion, or a combination of zinc and magnesium-oxygen.
Friday's study details an attempt to solve what lead researcher Rahmanudin described as the core paradox: bigger-capacity batteries require thicker electrodes — the conductive material that carries the charge from positive to negative poles.
That property means that more energy storage tends to come at the price of more rigidity.
The Swedish researchers say they have solved this problem by making liquid electrodes — based on a combination of flexible, conductive plastics and lignin, a polymer found in wood and bark.
Lignin, which the scientists extracted from paper pulp, is a raw material plentiful in any country with a big paper industry — which includes Sweden, but also the U.S. and battery-producing giant China.
That material offers a valuable upcycling of a waste product, said Mohsen Mohammadi, one of the lead authors on the paper.
'By repurposing a byproduct like lignin into a high value commodity such as a battery material we contribute to a more circular model,' he said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Upturn
27 minutes ago
- Business Upturn
Redwing Acquires Assets of Swedish Drone Delivery Startup Aerit, Adding European Entry and ML-Based Flight Routing Capabilities
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India: Redwing, a leading provider of drone-based instant logistics solutions from India, today announced the strategic acquisition of the assets of Aerit, a Swedish drone delivery startup recognized for its advanced autonomous delivery technology for suburban homes. This asset acquisition significantly strengthens Redwing's position in Europe, accelerating its expansion efforts in one of the world's fastest-growing drone logistics markets. Aerit had successfully collaborated with Foodora in 2024, with EASA's SAIL II permits for Sweden operations for delivering food from retailers to consumers. Built by a talented team of engineers from Spotify, Scania Group & PhDs, it was the 1st company to complete commercial food drone delivery in Sweden. The integration of Aerit's state-of-the-art autonomous flight technology 'Stewie' and operational know-how significantly enhances Redwing's technological portfolio. This move allows Redwing to rapidly develop and deploy advanced drones tailored specifically to the complex and evolving needs of the logistics sector. Aerit's drone systems are acclaimed for their safety, reliability, and operational efficiency, attributes critical to achieving scalable drone operations and commercial viability. This acquisition underscores Redwing's commitment to driving innovation and achieving leadership in the BVLOS drone logistics industry. With a proven track record of more than 300,000 kilometers of Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) flights, Redwing has consistently demonstrated the capability and readiness of its autonomous drone platform in demanding scenarios such as drone logistics in rain, hilly terrains & coastal winds. By integrating Aerit's expertise, Redwing further solidifies its ability to deliver comprehensive, highly reliable drone-based solutions that meet stringent European regulatory requirements. 'The acquisition of Aerit is a pivotal step for Redwing, expanding the BVLOS portfolio & improving ML-based flight routing capabilities alongside EASA regulatory headway,' said Anshul Sharma, co-founder of Redwing. 'By combining Aerit's innovative technology and European market presence with Redwing's deep expertise in scalable, autonomous drone logistics, we are excited to complete this acquisition process.' About REDWING Advertisement Redwing is a multi-use BVLOS drone company based out of Bangalore. They design, build and operate drones with Beyond Visual Line of Sight Capability (BVLOS) that are designed to travel long distances reliably for logistics & other applications. Redwing team has received 12 awards combined in the US and Asia-Pacific by industry giants such as NASA, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and Airbus through collegiate competitions and is Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia. Website: Click here for Media Contact Details Submit your press release Disclaimer: The above press release comes to you under an arrangement with Business Wire. Business Upturn takes no editorial responsibility for the same.
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Yahoo
Japanese lunar lander crashes while attempting touchdown on the Moon
A private lunar lander from Japan crashed while attempting a touchdown on Friday, the latest casualty in the commercial rush to the Moon. Tokyo-based company ispace declared the mission a failure several hours after communication was lost with the lander. Flight controllers scrambled to gain contact, but were met with only silence and said they were concluding the mission. Communications ceased less than two minutes before the spacecraft's scheduled landing on the Moon with a mini rover. Until then, the descent from lunar orbit seemed to be going well. Takeshi Hakamada, ispace chief executive officer and founder, apologised to everyone who contributed to the mission, the second lunar strikeout for the company. Two years ago, the company's first moonshot ended in a crash landing, giving rise to the name Resilience for its successor lander. Resilience carried a rover with a shovel to gather lunar dirt as well as a Swedish artist's toy-size red house for placement on the Moon's dusty surface. Company officials said it was too soon to know whether the same problem doomed both missions. 'This is the second time that we were not able to land. So we really have to take it very seriously,' Mr Hakamada told reporters. He stressed the company would press ahead with more lunar missions. A preliminary analysis indicates the laser system for measuring the altitude did not work as planned and the lander descended too fast, officials said. 'Based on these circumstances, it is currently assumed that the lander likely performed a hard landing on the lunar surface,' the company said in a written statement. Long the province of governments, the Moon became a target of private outfits in 2019, with more flops than successes along the way. Launched in January from Florida on a long, roundabout journey, Resilience entered lunar orbit last month. It shared a SpaceX ride with Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost, which reached the Moon faster and became the first private entity to successfully land there in March. Another US company, Intuitive Machines, arrived at the Moon a few days after Firefly. But the tall, spindly lander face-planted in a crater near the south pole and was declared dead within hours. Resilience was targeting the top of the Moon, a less treacherous place than the shadowy bottom. The ispace team chose a flat area with few boulders in Mare Frigoris or Sea of Cold, a long and narrow region full of craters and ancient lava flows that stretches across the near side's northern tier. Plans had called for the 7.5ft Resilience to beam back pictures within hours and for the lander to lower the piggybacking rover onto the lunar surface this weekend. Made of carbon fibre-reinforced plastic with four wheels, ispace's European-built rover — named Tenacious — sported a high-definition camera to scout out the area and a shovel to scoop up some lunar dirt for Nasa. The rover was going to stick close to the lander, going in circles at a speed of less than one inch per second.
Yahoo
16 hours ago
- Yahoo
Building the 'Moonhouse': Q&A with artist Mikael Genberg
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. A dream that Mikael Genberg has nurtured for more than a quarter century could come true today (June 5). The Swedish artist's "Moonhouse," a project he devised way back in 1999, is set to touch down on the moon this afternoon aboard Resilience, a lander operated by the Japanese company ispace. The artwork — a tiny replica of the red-and-white houses that dot the Swedish countryside — is mounted on the front bumper of Tenacious, a microrover built by ispace's European subsidiary. If Resilience touches down safely today and everything thereafter goes to plan as well, Tenacious will deploy from the lander and drop the Moonhouse onto the lunar dirt, giving the gray landscape a solitary spark of vibrant color. caught up with Genberg via email recently to discuss the Moonhouse, how he's feeling with the touchdown try just around the corner and what a successful landing would mean to him. The questions and answers are presented below in their entirety. How and when did you first get the idea to put a little Swedish house on the moon? Mikael Genberg: Working as an artist is, in many ways, about trying to describe the world, life, and human beings from different perspectives. All culture is essentially that: describing and re-describing what it means to be here. The house, as a symbol, holds in my mind a unique combination of survival and beauty. When I first imagined a typical Swedish house standing on the moon, I instantly felt the power of the image, but also its impossibility. I had no competence, no funding, no connections. Still, the thought didn't leave me. I started talking about it, first with close friends, then with others. Gradually, a sense of shared purpose, or something like that, began to form around the idea. Somehow, the concept managed to survive, and even grow, for 26 years, carried forward by its own poetry, craziness and hardship and by the incredible support of people who believed in it. That persistence of the idea itself is kind of an artwork. What does this piece mean to you? What do you hope it achieves, or how do you hope it affects people? Genberg: To me, the Moonhouse is both a shared achievement, something made possible by the efforts of many individuals, but also a profoundly personal thing. Being able to touch the moon with a small house that I painted in the kitchen of our red house from 1758 creates deeper emotions than I expected. It's like putting my finger on that distant white disc in the sky. An impossibility that comes to life. It's a small house in a vast, empty place, a symbol of belonging, curiosity, and vulnerability. I hope it invites people to reflect on our relationship to space, and to recognize the fragility and uniqueness of our own world, this Pale Blue Dot, packed with life, all related to each other. The Moonhouse doesn't claim anything except maybe to be art, but even that is of no real interest. It's a small red house standing on the moon. That's all. How do you feel now, being so close to the lunar landing? What emotions are running through you? Genberg: It's a strange mix of awe, anxiety, disbelief, and sheer, childish happiness. So many things have had to go right just to reach this point. There's excitement, of course, but also a deep sense of humility in understanding the challenges that still lie ahead. I'm trying not to get swept away by the emotions entirely, but instead to stay present in this moment. Whatever comes next. What would mission success — Tenacious deploying the Moonhouse onto the gray dirt — mean to you? What would it mean to humanity? Genberg: If it works, if the Moonhouse actually stands there on the lunar surface, I think it would be a moment of something extraordinary. Maybe more poetry than art. For me personally, it would be the culmination of imagination, persistence, and collaboration with so many wonderful people. As for what it might mean to humanity, that's really up to each person. I love that people have already responded in their own creative ways: sending us songs, children's drawings, poems. That, to me, is success, when an idea sparks new ideas in others. I hope the Moonhouse can become a small cultural marker. Something that says: we were here, and we brought not just our technology, but our dreams, our symbols of home. We come in peace. Related stories: — Japanese company ispace will attempt historic moon landing on June 5 — Little house on the (moon) prairie: Artist's 'Moonhouse' set to lift off on lunar lander — Japan's ispace unveils microrover for its 2nd moon mission What if Resilience fails during its landing attempt on June 5? Will you still regard the Moonhouse project as a success? Genberg: That's hard to say. In the moment, I'm sure I would feel deep disappointment. But with some distance, I believe I'll be able to see how the Moonhouse has already succeeded in many ways. It exists. It was built. It sparked thoughts, conversations and creativity across the world. Of course, I hope it lands safely. But I also accept that space missions are, by nature, super-risky. No matter what happens, the House will reach the moon. The only question is in what shape.
