Australia Develops Starch-Based “Eternal” Battery

Researchers at Flinders University in Australia have developed an aqueous zinc–iodine battery capable of withstanding more than 60,000 charge–discharge cycles and reaching a full charge in just three minutes. According to ixbt.com, the technology is considered a considerably safer and cheaper alternative to the lithium-ion batteries widely used in the energy storage market. Ixbt.com reports .

Experts say one of the main advantages of the new battery type is its water-based, nonflammable electrolyte. Zinc is also abundant in nature and relatively inexpensive as a raw material. However, iodine compounds in such batteries have previously migrated through the separator between the electrodes, causing the so-called “shuttle effect.” This process gradually depleted the active material and degraded the battery’s performance.

Innovative Solution and Test Results

To solve the problem, Australian scientists proposed using an inexpensive, biodegradable polymer based on cyclodextrin, a starch derivative. Cyclodextrin molecules have a hydrophilic outer surface and a hydrophobic inner cavity, allowing them to act as molecular “traps” that retain iodine compounds and release them in a controlled manner.

During laboratory tests, the battery delivered a capacity of approximately 200 mAh/g and withstood more than 8,000 cycles with a charging time of seven minutes. When the operating capacity was reduced to 150 mAh/g, the charging time was cut to just three minutes and the service life exceeded 60,000 cycles. According to the study, the degradation rate of the cells was only 0.0001–0.0003% per cycle, while the operating voltage ranged from 1.3 to 1.4 V.

Prospects and Industrial Significance

The developers are primarily targeting this technology at large stationary energy networks rather than smartphones or electric vehicles. In such systems, long service life, safety, material costs, and the ability to rapidly absorb and deliver large amounts of energy are crucial.

This innovation is particularly strategically important for Australia, which holds approximately 20–28% of the world’s known zinc reserves. Using local raw materials could reduce dependence on raw material supply chains for lithium-ion batteries and enable the development of domestic energy storage system manufacturing.

Flinders University’s team is currently working closely with industry partners to create a battery prototyping platform. Bringing the technology to commercial scale will require further scaling and testing in full-size devices.