Batteries have long been big polluters. Their insides contain chemical electrolytes which allow us to power our electronics, but are toxic when disposed of. Now scientists say they have developed a battery that replaces those polluting chemicals with water instead.
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00:00 (upbeat music)
00:02 Batteries have long been polluters.
00:06 That's because their insides contain chemical electrolytes,
00:08 which allow us to power our electronics,
00:11 but are toxic when disposed of.
00:12 Now scientists say they have developed a battery
00:15 that replaces those polluting chemicals with water instead.
00:18 They're calling them aqueous metal ion batteries,
00:21 or water batteries,
00:22 and they use magnesium or zinc and water
00:25 instead of more toxic materials.
00:26 What's more, because they're made of water,
00:28 they also won't catch fire or explode if mishandled
00:31 or stored improperly like traditional batteries might.
00:33 Here's one of the researchers
00:35 developing the water batteries, Tianyi Ma,
00:37 to explain just some of the benefits.
00:39 - These batteries can be very low cost,
00:43 highly safe, and environmental friendly.
00:46 - He goes on to say that now they just need
00:47 to develop new electrode materials,
00:49 which will help increase the batteries' energy density,
00:52 adding that water batteries have the potential
00:54 to replace acid-based batteries in the home
00:56 in the next three years,
00:57 and lithium ion batteries in the next five to 10 years.
01:01 And that's good news,
01:02 especially considering how difficult it is
01:04 to dispose of large current-gen batteries,
01:06 and how dependent upon them we're becoming.
01:08 Their current battery iteration can power a light
01:10 for 12 hours on just one day's charge from a solar panel.
01:15 (upbeat music)
01:17 (upbeat music)