The problem with a lot of consumer-grade batteries is that they are rigid and fixed in terms of their shape, meaning that there are limitations when it comes to designing products based around them, although we have seen companies try to work around those limitations by creating different shapes or stacking them.
However in the future that may no longer be a limitation because in a paper published by Chem (via The Verge), it seems that researchers have managed to create a battery that is not only flexible, but it can also be powered by saltwater, which in turn could lead to the creation of new types of devices and wearables that don’t necessarily have to conform to traditional battery designs.
In the batteries created by researchers, they found that they were able to fold it in half a hundred times without damaging it. It was also found to be safer because instead of being powered by toxic chemicals, it is powered by relatively harmless liquids such as saltwater and IV rehydration solutions.
So far the researchers have managed to create two versions of the battery: a belt-shaped model and a nanotube. They have also experimented with various solutions, such as sodium sulfate (which is sometimes used as a laxative) and saline, with the former offering the best results based on their tests.
