Science & technology | Energy storage

New battery designs could lead to gains in power and capacity

Researchers are looking beyond the cathode

An illustration of a battery with slices being swapped out.
Illustration: Rose Wong

IN THEir QUEST to build a better battery, researchers have blazed a trail through the elements of the periodic table. The earliest prototype cells ran on nickel and cadmium; successors have used everything from zinc and iron to sodium and lead.

This article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline “All change”

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