Breakthroughs for batteries could soon make them much better
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Science & technology | Charging ahead<br>Breakthroughs for batteries could soon make them much better<br>Solid-state cells would be faster and safer than today’s lithium-ion equivalents<br>Share
Illustration: Mark Pernice
May 20th 2026|6 min read
LIKE ANY champion who spends too long at the top, the lithium-ion battery is stagnating. Over decades as the battery of choice in everything from smartphones to electric cars and drones, its design has been tweaked countless times to improve its energy density and performance. But, some scientists say, those improvements are approaching their theoretical limits. Even the best models are prone to dying out in the cold, rapidly losing capacity or—as is the case for those in household devices—spontaneously catching fire.
This article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline “Charging ahead”
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