The most creative battery breakthroughs of 2021

This year served up a stellar crop of battery advances that resulted from researchers thinking outside the box, reimagining these devices and the way they function. Let's take a look at the most creative and interesting examples.

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World’s longest flexible fiber battery design could stretch a kilometer

MIT engineers have produced the world's longest flexible fiber battery. The rechargeable lithium-ion battery is only a few hundred microns thick but 140 meters long, and according to the team could be produced at lengths far greater than that.

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KSTAR fusion reactor sets record with 30-second plasma confinement

A popular design in the pursuit of fusion power is the tokamak and an exciting example of these donut-shaped reactors can be found at the Korea Institute of Fusion Energy, where a new record for maintaining super-hot plasma has reportedly been set.

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Hybrid membrane edges flow batteries toward grid-scale energy storage

Scientists in China have come up with a new design for the membrane of redox flow batteries that solves some key shortcomings and takes the technology closer to realizing its potential as a storage solution for renewable energy.

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Helion raises billions promising net electricity from fusion by 2024

Washington startup Helion Energy says its seventh-gen Polaris prototype will be the world's first fusion generator to demonstrate net electricity production, as early as 2024, and it's roped in a record-breaking funding round to get it built and running.

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Energy-harvesting nanogenerator inspired by swaying seaweed

If you've ever peeked below the surface of the ocean, you'll have seen seaweed waving back and forth in the current. Scientists from China's Dalian Maritime University have now utilized that same motion in an underwater energy-harvesting device.

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Perfect pressure boosts high-density lithium metal battery performance

Material scientists have taken a step forward in the development of lithium-metal batteries, demonstrating how applying a very specific amount of pressure during cycling can prevent the formation of growths that would otherwise bring them undone.

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“Dead zone” discovery could bring high-density silicon batteries to life

Through first-of-a-kind observations, researchers have gained new insights into the reasons why lithium batteries with silicon anodes quickly fail, and uncovered clues as to how this swift deterioration might be avoided.

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Green ammonia: The rocky pathway to a new clean fuel

You'll be hearing a lot more about ammonia as a clean fuel option in the race to zero carbon by 2050. In particular, it looks like a strong option for long-haul ships and trucks. So what is it, how is it made, and how does it shape up as green fuel?

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