With lithium-ion batteries serving as the engine room for so much of the modern world, from phones and laptops, to electric cars and planes, every scientific breakthrough that improves their performance is an important one. Some of these come from incremental advances that experiment with alternative materials, for example, while some come from re-imagining the whole device and the way they work from the ground up. 2021 produced a stellar crop of discoveries that resulted from researchers thinking outside the box in this way. Let's take a look at the most creative and interesting examples.

Opening up to faster charging