Translating Materials-Level Performance into Device-Relevant Metrics for Zinc-Based Batteries

Abstract

Zinc-based batteries are experiencing a resurgence in interest owing to their promising energy and power metrics, and inherent safety advantages compared with lithium-ion batteries. As scientists worldwide address the remaining obstacles to realizing competitive performance across the family of zinc batteries, the enthusiasm to report new “breakthroughs” at the materials or small-device level must be tempered by a realistic understanding of how such improvements will translate to practical energy-storage devices. Framing early-stage results in such a context will advance the prospects of next-generation Zn batteries while avoiding the “hype cycle” that has plagued research and development for other energy-storage technologies. Herein, we present guidelines by which to evaluate and report data derived from new electrode formulations and cell components such that the results will directly inform which breakthroughs are technologically relevant to scale up.