A team from the University of Hasselt and the research institute imec presents in Advanced Science a new electrolyte that combines the properties of solid and liquid electrolytes in batteries. ‘We actually cheat a little.’

A battery consists of three essential components: anode, cathode and electrolyte. ‘The electrolyte provides the ions needed to close the circuit between the anode and the cathode’, explains An Hardy, full professor at the Institute for Materials Research at UHasselt. ‘In an AA battery or a car battery, the electrolyte is often a liquid. We wanted to replace this with a solid electrolyte.’ This is mainly for safety reasons, because it reduces the risk of thermal runaway in the battery. Another advantage is that you can also use lithium metal, which increases the energy density.