A team of scientists in Mexico has built a tough new battery that could one day replace the lithium-ion batteries used in phones and electric cars.
Unlike lithium batteries, which can catch fire or explode when damaged, this new zinc-air battery keeps working even after being punctured, burned, or submerged in water.
The research was led by Noé Arjona and his colleagues at the Center for Advanced Materials Research (CIMAV) in Chihuahua, Mexico.
Their findings, published in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, show that safer, more affordable, and eco-friendly batteries might soon become a reality.
Lithium-ion batteries dominate today’s technology, powering everything from smartphones to electric vehicles.
But they have one major problem: their liquid electrolytes are flammable. If the battery is crushed, punctured, or overheats, it can burst into flames.
“We are not using lithium-ion batteries because of the many safety concerns regarding the flammability of the electrolytes that are used in that kind of technology,” says Arjona.
Instead of using lithium, Arjona’s team developed a metal-air battery—a system that generates power by combining metal with oxygen from the air. This approach removes the need for dangerous liquid electrolytes.
The researchers chose zinc as the main material because it’s safer and more abundant than lithium or cobalt. To minimize metal use even further, they designed a carbon sheet sprinkled with single atoms of nickel rather than using large chunks of metal.
To confirm their design at the atomic level, the team used the Canadian Light Source (CLS) at the University of Saskatchewan, which provides some of the brightest light in the world for studying materials.
Their tests confirmed that nickel atoms were distributed evenly across the carbon surface. When paired with a gel-like polymer electrolyte, this structure allowed the zinc-air battery to work efficiently without safety risks.
The team tested their battery under extreme conditions—hammering a nail through it, setting it on fire, and dunking it in water. In all cases, the battery kept functioning. It also performed well in very cold or hot conditions, making it ideal for countries with harsh climates. “In Canada, you have a huge problem with recharging batteries in very cold temperatures, such as with electric vehicles,” Arjona explains. “Our kind of technology doesn’t have the same issues.”
Beyond safety and performance, the team is also thinking about sustainability. They plan to make future versions with biodegradable materials that could even enrich soil once the battery is discarded. They are also exploring replacing nickel with iron, a more common and environmentally friendly metal.
Although this zinc-air battery is still a prototype, Arjona believes it points the way forward. “If we want highly safe batteries, we need to design them with single-atom catalysts,” he says. “This is the future of energy storage.”
