New flexible lithium ion battery flexes like a spine; may revolutionize wearable electronics

With the emergence of flexible — as in bendable — consumer electronic devices like smartphones and smartwatches, the demand has increased for similarly flexible high-performance batteries. This was the main motivation behind a study conducted by researchers from Columbia University, who now claim that they have successfully created a remarkably flexible, high energy density battery that’s based on the shape of the human spine. It’s the topic of a new research paper titled, “Bio-inspired, spine-like flexible rechargeable lithium-ion batteries with high energy density,” which was published recently in the journal Advanced Materials.

A report on the study notes that researchers in the field have had difficulty obtaining both good flexibility and high energy density in their prototype lithium-ion batteries until this recent success. The breakthrough came from the realization that the human spine is one thing that offers the characteristics the scientists want to impart on their battery design: flexibility with high energy density, plus a stable voltage no matter how it is twisted or flexed.