Sodium-ion batteries are emerging as a promising option for cleaner, more sustainable energy storage. Researchers at the University of Surrey have identified a surprisingly simple way to improve their performance by keeping water inside a critical battery material instead of removing it. Lithium-ion batteries currently dominate the market, but they depend on costly materials that can harm the environment. Sodium, by contrast, is abundant and widely accessible. Even so, matching the performance o...

Picture the scene: you’ve woken up to a frost-covered winter scene and biting, sub-zero temperatures, but you’ve still got somewhere to be. You head outside, scrape the ice off your car, plip your keyfob to get in and… nothing. A dreaded flat battery. Winter can be tough on cars in all sorts of ways, but one of the most vulnerable components is its battery, which is liable to essentially turn your pride and joy into a giant four-wheeled paperweight until you can get it sorted. Thankfully,...