--- title: "A New Battery Could Store Ten Times the Power as Lithium-Ion" description: "Researchers from Caltech, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and Honda say they've developed a new battery with extraordinary powers." date: "2018-12-09" modified: "2018-12-09" authors: - name: "Jon Christian" job_title: "Executive Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc" url: "https://futurism.com/new-battery-ten-times-power" categories: - "Science & Energy" tags: - "caltech" - "fluoride battery" - "honda" - "NASA" --- # A New Battery Could Store Ten Times the Power as Lithium-Ion ![Researchers from Caltech, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and Honda say they've developed a new battery with extraordinary powers.]() *\Image: Kevin Spencer/Emily Cho\* ## Batteries Not Included Batteries are great. They power many hallmarks of the future, from smartphones to electric cars. The problem, of course, is that batteries never seem to last quite long enough on a charge — and their [environmental footprint is substantial](). Now, though, an all-star team of researchers from Caltech, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and Honda [say they've developed]() a fluoride-based battery that could deliver up to ten times the energy density of a conventional lithium-ion cell — and that take fewer resources to manufacture. ## Fluoride With Me The team describes the new battery in [a paper]() published Friday in the journal *Science*. Basically, [*CNET* reports](), fluoride batteries have [been around for a while]() — but they required oven-like temperatures of around 300 degrees Farenheit (150 Celsius) to function. The new battery, according to Caltech and company, can produce power at room temperature. "Fluoride-ion batteries offer a promising new battery chemistry with up to ten times more energy density than currently available Lithium batteries," said Christopher Brooks, a Honda Research Institute researcher and a co-author of the paper, in a [press release](). "Unlike Li-ion batteries, FIBs do not pose a safety risk due to overheating, and obtaining the source materials for FIBs creates considerably less environmental impact than the extraction process for lithium and cobalt." ## Fire Guy An added bonus: unlike the lithium-ion batteries that [power iPhones and Teslas](), the researchers behind the fluoride battery say that it's unlikely to burst into flames. It's also worth keeping in mind that new battery technology is [prone to extraordinary hype](). But as with all new tech, there could be unforeseen roadblocks to practical applications — and, even in the best case scenario, it typically takes years to bring a new product to market. **READ MORE:** [Honda, CalTech and NASA's JPL might have a real alternative to Li-ion batteries]() \[*CNET*\] ***More on batteries:*** [*Electric Vehicles Are the Future, but Their Batteries Are Stuck in the Past*]() ## Author I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()