This new battery will soon change the way we power wearables and medical devices. Scientists from Linkoping University, Sweden, have developed a flexible battery that can be bent, twisted or stretched twice as long. The battery is made from soft, flexible materials that have a consistency similar to toothpaste. It can be 3D-printed into any shape. This opens up new possibilities to design electronics that conforms to the human body, or moves like living creatures. This battery is more flexible than traditional rigid batteries. It maintains its structure even when under extreme stress.

Its clever internal chemistry is responsible for its flexibility. Researchers swapped out standard batteries materials for organic alternatives, such as modified lignin (a by-product of paper manufacture) for the battery’s active parts and silver nanowires or nanographite to make the conductive components. The researchers note that these materials are soft and small enough to move along with the battery, without causing it to break down or lose charge.

A study was published in Science Advances.

Although it’s only a proof-of-concept for now, the flexible battery has already demonstrated impressive performance. It can be charged and discharged more than 500 times without losing power, and it operates reliably with voltages that are just below the standard 1,5V battery.

This is more than enough power to run many small electronic devices, including pacemakers. Scientists are already working to increase the voltage. This new battery technology would be ideal for smart medical devices which move with your body or clothing with flexible sensors powered by within. It could lead to soft-bodied robotics that do not require bulky battery packs. We’ve seen robots that look like that before, including one that can melt once it has completed its mission.