Batteries are surging ahead in storage, speed, and efficiency. Here are 5 of our favourite battery science stories of the year.

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.

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Electric vehicles as grid storage? It’s right around the (model house) corner

Many Australians now sell solar power into the grid on sunny days generated on their rooftops.

In a handful of years, it may be possible to do the same thing when it’s dark – with the help of an electric vehicle.

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Sustainable sodium – the next battery of the future

Lithium 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.

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Cheap zinc-ion batteries can be made at a desk

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.

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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.

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