{"683889":{"#nid":"683889","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Breaking the Rules to Build a Better Battery ","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFast charging a battery is supposed to be risky \u2014 a shortcut that leads to battery breakdown. But for a Georgia Tech team studying zinc-ion batteries, fast charging led to a breakthrough: It made the battery stronger. This result could revolutionize how we power homes, hospitals, and the grid.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBy flipping a foundational belief in battery design, \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/research.gatech.edu\/people\/hailong-chen\u0022\u003EHailong Chen\u003C\/a\u003E, an associate professor in the George W. \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.me.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EWoodruff School of Mechanical Engineering\u003C\/a\u003E, and his team found that charging zinc-ion batteries at higher currents can make them last longer. The surprising result, recently published in \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/s41467-025-61813-y\u0022\u003E\u003Cem\u003ENature Communications\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E, challenges core assumptions and offers a path toward safer, more affordable alternatives to lithium-ion technology.\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhy Zinc-Ion Batteries?\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EZinc-ion batteries have several key advantages over lithium-ion batteries, the most commonly used rechargeable battery technology:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cul\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAbundant\u003C\/strong\u003E: Zinc is one of the most abundant metals on Earth, and it\u2019s mined in many countries.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ELow cost\u003C\/strong\u003E: Zinc is significantly cheaper than lithium and doesn\u2019t rely on scarce materials.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ENonflammable\u003C\/strong\u003E: Unlike lithium, zinc batteries won\u2019t catch fire \u2014 a critical safety benefit.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EEnvironmentally safer\u003C\/strong\u003E: Zinc is less toxic and easier to recycle than lithium-based materials.\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHowever, until Chen\u2019s discovery, zinc-ion batteries had one major drawback. The growth of dendrites, the sharp metal deposits that form during charging, can eventually short-circuit the battery.\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u201cWe found that using faster charging actually suppressed dendrite formation instead of accelerating it,\u201d Chen said. \u201cIt\u2019s a very different behavior than what we see in lithium-ion batteries.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWith this approach, the zinc doesn\u2019t build up into dendrites. Instead, it settles into smooth, compact layers \u2014 more like neatly stacked books than splintered shards \u2014 a structure that not only avoids short circuits but also helps the battery last longer.\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003E\u201cIt goes against the conventional thinking that fast charging shortens battery life,\u201d Chen said. \u201cWhat we found expands people\u2019s understanding of fast charging that could rewrite how we think about battery design and where they can be used.\u003Cbr\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ESolving Half of the Problem\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEven breakthroughs have limits. Chen was quick to point out that while his discovery solves a major issue, it only fixes one half of the battery.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA battery has two main ends, the anode and the cathode. Chen\u2019s team made the anode last much longer. Now, the cathode must catch up. He is working to improve the cathode so the whole battery performs reliably over time. His team is also experimenting with mixing zinc with other materials to make zinc-ion batteries even more durable.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETesting Everything at Once\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EChen\u2019s team didn\u2019t just stumble on these results. They built a novel tool that allowed them to watch how zinc behaved under different charging rates in real time, studying many samples simultaneously.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThat real-time, side-by-side view was important. Traditional battery experiments usually test one variable at a time. But this novel approach allowed researchers to test hundreds of conditions at the same time, speeding up discovery and revealing patterns that would have been easy to miss.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cWe weren\u2019t just seeing whether the battery worked or not; we were watching the structure of the material evolve as it charged,\u201d Chen noted. Using their new tool, he and his team uncovered for the first time why fast charging makes zinc settle into smooth, tightly packed layers instead of dangerous, needle-like spikes. No one had ever experimentally mapped out this process before.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIt\u2019s an approach that combines efficiency with insight.\u003Cbr\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECharging Into the Future\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EChen\u2019s team didn\u2019t reinvent the battery. They challenged the status quo \u2014 and the data took them somewhere no one imagined. That unexpected result could redefine battery science.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cYou can imagine these zinc-ion batteries being used to store solar energy in homes, or for grid stabilization,\u201d Chen said. \u201cAnywhere you need reliable, affordable backup power.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWith growing demand for clean energy, unstable lithium supply chains, and safety concerns over flammable batteries, the need for alternatives has never been more urgent.\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Cbr\u003EIf all goes well, Chen hopes zinc-ion batteries could be ready for everyday use in about five years.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EChen\u2019s research was supported by Yifan Ma, ME 2024; Josh Kasher, associate professor in the School of Materials Science and Engineering; and the U.S Department of Energy National Laboratories. The study was funded by Novelis through the Novelis\u2013Georgia Tech Research Hub, with additional funding from the National Science Foundation. Two Novelis researchers, Minju Kang and John Carsley, are co-authors on the paper.\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ECharging batteries quickly was thought to degrade them. Georgia Tech\u2019s findings flip that logic and open new doors for energy storage.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Charging batteries quickly was thought to degrade them. Georgia Tech\u2019s findings flip that logic and open new doors for energy storage."}],"uid":"36410","created_gmt":"2025-08-18 13:07:26","changed_gmt":"2025-08-26 15:42:15","author":"mazriel3","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","location":"Atlanta, GA","dateline":{"date":"2025-08-18T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2025-08-18T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"677732":{"id":"677732","type":"image","title":"Zinc-ion Battery ","body":"\u003Cp\u003EAI rendering of a fast-charging battery.\u003C\/p\u003E","created":"1755609818","gmt_created":"2025-08-19 13:23:38","changed":"1755609922","gmt_changed":"2025-08-19 13:25:22","alt":"AI rendering of a fast-charging battery.","file":{"fid":"261665","name":"aibattery.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/08\/19\/aibattery.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2025\/08\/19\/aibattery.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":158327,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2025\/08\/19\/aibattery.jpg?itok=nMsicBC_"}}},"media_ids":["677732"],"groups":[{"id":"660369","name":"Matter and Systems"},{"id":"1188","name":"Research Horizons"}],"categories":[{"id":"194607","name":"Batteries"}],"keywords":[{"id":"187915","name":"go-researchnews"},{"id":"186858","name":"go-sei"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39531","name":"Energy and Sustainable Infrastructure"},{"id":"193652","name":"Matter and Systems"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EMichelle Azriel, Sr. Writer-Editor\u0026nbsp;\u003Cbr\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:mazriel3@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Emazriel3@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}