Scientists Create Calcium Battery That Lasts 1,000 Cycles

Scientists just made a battery breakthrough that could change how we power everything from phones to electric vehicles.

A team at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology created a calcium-ion battery that performed well after 1,000 charging cycles. That's a huge leap for technology that's been stuck in the lab for years.

The world runs on lithium batteries right now, but there's a problem. Lithium supplies are limited, and demand keeps growing as more countries invest in renewable energy and electric vehicles. Scientists have been racing to find alternatives that work just as well without the supply worries.

Enter calcium. It's everywhere, it's cheap, and it has the right chemistry to store energy like lithium does. The catch has always been getting calcium ions to move smoothly inside batteries and keeping performance steady over time.

Professor Yoonseob Kim and his team cracked the code using something called redox covalent organic frameworks. These special materials create tiny, organized pathways that let calcium ions zip through quickly and efficiently. Think of it like replacing a bumpy dirt road with a smooth highway.

The results speak for themselves. The new battery delivered strong performance and kept more than 74% of its capacity after 1,000 charge and discharge cycles. That's approaching the durability we expect from commercial batteries.

The Ripple Effect

This isn't just about swapping one battery type for another. Calcium is abundant in Earth's crust, which means lower costs and less geopolitical tension over resources. Countries wouldn't need to compete for limited lithium supplies to build their clean energy infrastructure.

The technology could make electric vehicles more affordable and help store solar and wind power more efficiently. When renewable energy becomes cheaper to store, more communities can rely on it instead of fossil fuels.

Professor Kim emphasized that this research shows calcium batteries can be "a sustainable alternative to lithium-ion technology" that meets the demands of a greener future. His team worked with researchers at Shanghai Jiao Tong University to validate the findings.

The battery world just got more competitive, and that's excellent news for anyone who wants cleaner, cheaper energy storage.