Spanish-designed battery architecture boosts zinc–air power output by 80%

In Spain, researchers at the Institute of Materials Science of Barcelona (ICMAB-CSIC) have developed a new architecture for zinc-air batteries that increases power output by up to 80% without changing their underlying chemistry. Conductive elements incorporated within the battery function as wireless bipolar electrodes, improving charge transport and reducing internal resistance.

The development could guide the design of more efficient, higher-performance batteries. Published in the journal Energy Storage Materials, the study was conducted with the Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2) and the National University of La Plata in Argentina.

The researchers said the work, together with the group’s earlier studies, challenges conventional battery design and points toward a new approach to energy-storage systems.

A design principle that challenges established assumptions

Batteries produce electricity from the energy difference between the materials in their two electrodes. Charges move between them through an electrolyte, a substance that permits the flow of ions. Traditionally, this component was expected to prevent electrons from passing through, thereby avoiding a short circuit. The new study questions that assumption.

The team led by Nieves Casañ-Pastor of ICMAB-CSIC found that, under specific conditions, small pieces of conductive metal can be placed inside a battery without being connected to its electrodes or external circuit, while still improving performance.

The effect is driven by the electric field generated between the electrodes during operation. The researchers found that inserting one or more isolated conductive elements between them does not create a short circuit and can instead enhance charge transport.

This field polarises the conductive pieces, causing opposite charges to accumulate at their ends and forming additional pathways for charge movement. The process reduces internal resistance and enables the battery to deliver energy more rapidly. Casañ-Pastor said the striking feature is that the conductors are not wired into the system; their beneficial effect arises simply from their presence.

Addressing oxygen’s slow reaction is central to the design

Part of Marc Mosqueda’s doctoral research, the study highlights the promise of zinc-air batteries, which use abundant, inexpensive and safe materials but are constrained by the slow reaction of oxygen.

The new architecture incorporates wireless bipolar electrodes that lower internal resistance and accelerate energy delivery, increasing power output by as much as 80%.

Cañañ-Pastor said the discovery could be applied to a range of storage technologies. The researchers have already observed similar effects in other systems and plan to continue investigating the potential of wireless bipolar electrodes.

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