A team of researchers at the University of Surrey has developed a new type of lithium-ion battery that could make electric vehicles travel much farther and help everyday devices last longer between charges.
Their findings were published in ACS Applied Energy Materials.
Lithium-ion batteries are used in many modern technologies, including smartphones, laptops, and electric cars.
Most of these batteries use graphite as the anode—the part of the battery that stores energy during charging.
Graphite is reliable and stable, but it has a major limitation: it cannot store a large amount of energy.
Scientists have long known that silicon could be a better alternative.
Silicon can store much more energy than graphite, which could greatly improve battery performance. However, there is a major problem.
When silicon charges, it expands significantly, and when it discharges, it shrinks. This repeated swelling and shrinking causes the material to crack and break down over time, reducing the battery’s lifespan.
To solve this issue, the Surrey research team created a new structure called “Vertically Integrated Silicon–Carbon Nanotube,” or VISiCNT.
In this design, tiny tube-shaped carbon structures—called carbon nanotubes—are grown directly onto a copper surface. A thin layer of silicon is then added on top.
This structure acts like a flexible support system. The carbon nanotubes help absorb the expansion of silicon during charging, preventing it from cracking. At the same time, they allow electricity to flow efficiently through the battery, improving overall performance.
In laboratory tests, the new anode showed very impressive results. It was able to store more than 3500 milliampere-hours per gram, which is close to the maximum possible for silicon. For comparison, graphite—the material used in most current batteries—stores only about 370 milliampere-hours per gram. The new design also remained stable over many charging cycles, which is essential for long-term use.
Dr. Muhammad Ahmad, the lead author of the study, explained that this development could help overcome one of the biggest challenges in battery technology: increasing energy storage without reducing battery life. He said the new design offers a practical way to take advantage of silicon’s high capacity while maintaining durability.
Another important advantage of this approach is that it could be easier to manufacture. The carbon nanotubes are grown directly on copper, which is already used in current battery production. This means the new design could potentially be integrated into existing manufacturing processes without major changes.
Professor Ravi Silva, who led the research, highlighted that this technology could be used not only in electric vehicles but also in grid energy storage and small electronic devices.
As the demand for better batteries continues to grow, innovations like this could play a key role in creating longer-lasting, faster-charging, and more efficient energy storage solutions for the future.
