Scientists in Bengaluru have created a breakthrough battery that’s flexible enough to fold like paper and safe to touch, offering a promising alternative to lithium-ion batteries used in phones, laptops, electric vehicles, and wearables.

Lithium-ion cells can overheat and even explode. The new design, developed at the Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences (CeNS) with the Centre for Nano Science and Engineering (CeNSE), IISc, replaces lithium with aluminum — one of Earth’s most abundant, eco-friendly metals — combined with a water-based electrolyte. This makes the battery safer, cheaper, and more sustainable.

Aluminum is efficient at storing and releasing energy but difficult to use because of complex chemistry. The team overcame this by engineering materials at the microscopic scale. They built a cathode of copper hexacyanoferrate pre-filled with aluminum ions and paired it with a molybdenum trioxide anode. The result is a battery that maintains 96.8 per cent of its capacity after 150 charge–discharge cycles and bends or folds without losing power.

To demonstrate, researchers powered an LCD display while folding the battery in half. Such flexibility could enable roll-up gadgets and clothing-integrated wearables, while its safety profile suits electric vehicles and other high-demand uses.

Advanced electron-microscopy and spectroscopic tests confirmed the battery’s durability and high performance. By using abundant aluminum and a water-based system, the innovation supports global sustainability goals and positions India at the forefront of multivalent-ion battery research. With further refinement, this next-generation energy-storage technology could soon find its way into everyday devices and safer, greener transportation.

Published on September 22, 2025