Batteries are becoming more and more powerful. A discovery by researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research in Heidelberg could now give them a significant energy boost.

A team led by Max Planck Director Joachim Spatz has discovered that metal fleeces used as contact material in battery electrodes significantly accelerate the charge transport of metal ions, in particular. This makes it possible to build significantly thicker electrodes than is standard today. It means that roughly half of the contact metal and other materials that do not contribute to energy storage can be saved, and makes it possible for researchers to significantly increase the energy density in batteries.

The findings are published in the journal ACS Nano.