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The new car batteries that could power the electric vehicle revolution

Researchers are experimenting with different designs that could lower costs, extend vehicle ranges and offer other improvements.
  1. Nicola Jones

    1. Nicola Jones is a freelance writer in Pemberton, British Columbia.

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Overhead aerial view of electric vehicles plugged in at a Gridserve charging hub

Electric vehicles charge in a car park in the United Kingdom, which will ban the sale of petrol and diesel cars in 2035. Credit: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg/Getty

There’s a revolution brewing in batteries for electric cars. Japanese car maker Toyota said last year that it aims to release a car in 2027–28 that could travel 1,000 kilometres and recharge in just 10 minutes, using a battery type that swaps liquid components for solids. Chinese manufacturers have announced budget cars for 2024 featuring batteries based not on the lithium that powers today’s best electric vehicles (EVs), but on cheap sodium — one of the most abundant elements in Earth’s crust. And a US laboratory has surprised the world with a dream cell that runs in part on air1 and could pack enough energy to power aeroplanes.

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Nature 626, 248-251 (2024)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-00325-z

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