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Rechargeable zinc batteries: Overcoming challenges and finding opportunities Josef Daniel-Ivad from the Zinc Battery Initiative updates the current scaling of zinc battery manufacturers and technology.

Josef Daniel-Ivad

May 18, 2026

R&D

Researchers make significant advancement into thermal runaway-free sodium-ion batteries The development of a Polymerizable Non-flammable Electrolyte appears to have helped sodium-ion batteries towards a eureka moment for safety.

Apr 10, 2026

R&D

Titanium emerges as a vanadium alternative for redox flow batteries A Japanese-Chinese team developed a titanium molten salt redox-flow battery using abundant titanium ions and molten salt electrolytes to enable high-voltage, fast, and stable grid-scale energy storage. The system demonstrates high efficiency of over 97%, strong cycling stability, and improved cost and scalability compared to vanadium-based batteries, with further optimization underway.

Emiliano Bellini

Apr 08, 2026

R&D

Conductive smart hydrogels as battery electrolytes: Promising for lithium, sodium, and zinc-ion chemistries Hydrogels offer promise in batteries as an electrolyte, including lithium and sodium chemistries, due to being inherently more safe.

Apr 02, 2026

R&D

Chinese team reports hydrofluorocarbon electrolyte for 700 Wh/kg lithium battery Nature paper shows lithium-metal pouch cells above 700 Wh/kg and operation down to -70 C.

Mar 30, 2026

R&D

Spain completes testing of Europe’s largest research vanadium BESS Spain’s Fundación Ciudad de la Energía (Ciuden), a government energy research foundation, has completed operational testing of a 1 MW/8 MWh vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) system at its Cubillos del Sil technology center, which it says is the largest vanadium flow battery in Europe dedicated to applied research.

Pilar Sanchez Molina

Mar 24, 2026

R&D

New cost-saving copper welding technique for battery cells revealed by Fraunhofer Resistance projection welding technique could unlock cost-effective copper interconnection potential. Described as a major opportunity for German battery manufacturers, the new approach to copper interconnections will now be used in commercial production.

Mar 20, 2026

pv magazine Global May Edition 2026

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pv magazine Focus 2026 announcement box

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pv magazine Awards 2026

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Entries open in seven categories: Modules, Inverters, BoS, BESS, Manufacturing, Sustainability, Projects.

April 01 – August 31, 2026

SunRise Arabia Update Announcement Box

SunRise Arabia Clean Energy Conference 2026

Saudi Arabia is accelerating its clean energy transition. Join the third SunRise Arabia Clean Energy Conference in 2026 to explore how solar PV and energy storage are powering the Kingdom’s growing digital economy, including data centers. Policymakers, investors, and innovators will share insights on technology, deployment strategies, and long-term value creation in Saudi Arabia’s evolving energy landscape.

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All R&D news

Disassembled batteries

Recycling

Spanish initiative for advanced battery recycling technologies Spain's Energy Technology Institute has initiated a project named RECILION in a bid to develop advanced recycling technologies that are reproducible on a commercial scale.

Pilar Sanchez Molina

May 27, 2024

Assistant Professor Golareh Jalilvand and her research team

R&D

Bringing lithium-sulfur batteries closer to commercialization Researchers at the University of South Carolina have successfully transitioned their highly-durable lithium-sulfur battery technology from coin to pouch cells and reported competent energy densities.

May 27, 2024

Schematic of the system

Technologies

Integrating pumped hydro with compressed air energy storage A group of Chinese researchers has made a first attempt to integrate pumped hydro with compressed air storage and has found the latter may help the former to better deal with large head variations.

Emiliano Bellini

May 16, 2024

Diagrams of vanadium redox flow batteries

R&D

Evaluating the profitability of vanadium flow batteries Researchers in Italy have estimated the profitability of future vanadium redox flow batteries based on real device and market parameters and found that market evolutions are heading to much more competitive systems, with capital costs down to €260/kWh at a storage duration of 10 hours.

May 01, 2024

Honda electric vehicle

R&D

Car batteries can optimize the power grid Australian researchers have found that if 10% of vehicles are electric and utilize V2G connections, they could reduce peak electricity demand at local substations by 6% and save car owners hundreds of dollars per year on charging costs.

John Fitzgerald Weaver

Mar 13, 2024

World map with pumped hydro markers

R&D

Global atlas for pumped hydro at mining sites The researchers that created the atlas considered mining pits, pit lakes and tailings ponds within mining sites and located nearby reservoirs. The selected sites have a potential storage capacity of 30 TWh.

Emiliano Bellini

Feb 28, 2024

Lamborghini with lithium-ion batteries

R&D

Organic cathode for high-energy, fast-charging lithium-ion batteries Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers have developed a new organic cathode material with an energy density higher than most cobalt-based cathodes. It can charge–discharge in as little as six minutes. Automaker Lamborghini has licensed the patent for the technology.

Feb 01, 2024

Toyota concept car

R&D

New solid state battery charges in minutes, lasts for thousands of cycles Researchers from the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) have developed a new lithium metal battery that can be charged and discharged at least 6,000 times — more than any other pouch battery cell — and can be recharged in a matter of minutes.

Jan 15, 2024

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