Researchers gently bend a thinner-than-paper battery, and the counter on the experimental instrument steadily ticks toward 20,000. This seemingly simple action in a Chinese laboratory is fueling a revolution in energy storage.
Chinese scientists have found a solution to the Achilles’ heel of solid-state lithium batteries. High interfacial impedance and low ion transport efficiency—these challenges that have plagued the global research community for years in the commercialization of solid-state batteries—have been completely overturned by an innovative molecular-level design in a laboratory at the Institute of Metal Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Published in the prestigious international journal Advanced Materials, this latest research demonstrates China’s leap forward in the arena of next-generation energy storage technology.
Solid-state batteries, hailed as the “ultimate solution” for energy storage, have long been mired in laboratory research due to issues with solid-solid contact between the electrode and electrolyte. Imagine two pieces of rough sandpaper trying to fit together perfectly—this is the awkward situation facing ion transport within traditional solid-state batteries.
The Chinese research team abandoned patchwork improvements and went straight to the heart of the problem: molecular structure.
They simultaneously implanted ion-conducting groups and electrochemically active short chains into the polymer backbone, creating a new material with integrated interfaces at the molecular scale. This design upgrades the ion transport channel from a narrow, narrow path to a three-dimensional highway, exponentially improving transmission efficiency.
The breakthrough of this new material lies in its intelligent switching capability—it autonomously adjusts ion transport and storage behavior across different potential ranges. This “bidirectional intelligence” enables the coordinated operation of energy transfer and storage at the microscopic level for the first time.
The performance data is exciting enough for the industry: it remains stable after 20,000 repeated bends. Based on daily usage, this is sufficient to support flexible devices for more than three years of continuous operation.
The 86% leap in energy density means that electric vehicles will have a range exceeding 800 kilometers, and smartphones can sustain more than two days of intensive use on a single charge.
This technology provides a complete solution to the “battery drag” problem that has plagued the electronics industry for years. Wearable devices will no longer have to rely on a single charge per day, as flexible displays can finally be paired with equally flexible energy cores.
More importantly, the inherent safety of solid-state batteries fundamentally eliminates the risks of leakage, fire, and explosion associated with liquid electrolyte batteries. This represents a fundamental shift in safety for new energy vehicles and air transportation.
From a broader perspective, this breakthrough points directly to the forefront of next-generation energy storage technology, a focus of the International Energy Agency (IEA), and will reshape the global energy technology landscape.
As countries bet heavily on solid-state battery research and development, China has achieved a transformation from following to catching up, and finally leading, thanks to fundamental innovations in materials. The solid-state battery technology advantages accumulated by companies like Toyota of Japan and Samsung of South Korea are being eroded by this disruptive material design approach.
Consumers are poised for the biggest form factor shift since the era of feature phones. Phones will fold like wallets, smartwatches will last up to a week, and medical devices will seamlessly adhere to human tissue—electronic devices will completely bid farewell to rigid, rigid forms.
In the aerospace sector, the combination of high energy density and high safety provides a more reliable “core” for long-endurance drones, microsatellites, and other equipment. Regarding environmental protection, solid-state batteries eliminate toxic and flammable solvents from the source, setting a new benchmark for green energy storage.
This breakthrough signals a subtle shift in China’s scientific research paradigm.
The team at the Institute of Metal Research (IMR) has chosen a unique approach. While their international peers are constantly increasing their focus on engineering improvements, Chinese scientists are returning to the roots of chemistry, addressing key challenges through molecular design. This scientific research philosophy of “using flexibility to overcome rigidity” demonstrates that China’s basic research is shifting from quantitative change to qualitative change.
In the history of scientific exploration, the most complex challenges often require the simplest solutions. The Chinese research team has overcome macro-level engineering challenges through ingenious molecular design. This mindset itself is a significant contribution to the methodology of innovation.
As China continues to achieve breakthroughs in key materials, global technological competition is shifting from applications to deep, fundamental research. The flexible battery’s ability to bend 20,000 times demonstrates the resilience of Chinese science and technology.
The history of science and technology teaches us that truly disruptive technologies are never incremental improvements, but rather redefine what is possible from a fundamental perspective.
When researchers at the IMR successfully bent that battery 20,000 times, they were bending not only the material itself but also the boundaries of traditional electronic device form factors, the ceiling of energy storage technology, and China’s position in the global technological competition.
The eye of the storm of the next technological revolution may be hidden in the silver film being bent in a Chinese laboratory.
