4 electrons: UCL makes a water-based iodine battery store more energy
A UCL-led team designed a new electrolyte that lets iodine move four electrons instead of two in zinc-iodine batteries.
Scientists found a way to make a battery that uses water store more energy. It is still in the lab and will not be in shops soon, but it is a good step toward safer storage.
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Why it matters
Water-based batteries are safer than lithium, and this idea raises the energy they hold.
Watch: an idea that makes water-based batteries stronger and safer.
The details
- The UCL-led team published its work in Nature in 2026.
- Iodine moves four electrons per reaction instead of two, so more energy is stored.
- The new electrolyte blocks unwanted iodine reactions without concentrated, corrosive halogen electrolytes.
- Zinc-iodine cells kept almost all their capacity after thousands of charge cycles, and the design worked in pouch and coin cells.
- This is lab research: larger-scale and realistic-condition tests are next steps, with no product or date.
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