Researchers at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) have created a 3D printing method that could change how batteries are made in the future.
Their recent study explains how they developed a battery part that can be printed in nearly any shape and still works as well as traditional versions.
The breakthrough centers on the battery electrolyte, which moves charged particles between the battery’s two ends. By making this part printable, the team believes future batteries could take on new shapes, making them more useful for wearables, medical devices, aerospace, and other small technologies.
A team of UTEP researchers has developed a way to 3D-print a battery component in nearly any shape. Image: UTEP.
Researchers replace liquid electrolyte with printable gel
Most rechargeable batteries use liquid electrolytes that must be sealed in hard cases. This limits how batteries can be shaped, since the case decides the final form. Leaks from liquid electrolytes can also cause safety problems.
To solve these problems, the UTEP team made a printable gel polymer electrolyte. They combined a light-sensitive resin with a lithium-based liquid electrolyte and used a 3D printing process called vat photopolymerisation, which hardens the material layer by layer with light.
Tests showed that the printed electrolyte could conduct ions at rates comparable to those of traditional liquid electrolytes, reaching up to 3.4 × 10⁻³ siemens per centimetre. The team also found that a one-to-four resin-to-electrolyte ratio yielded the best results for reliable printing and strong performance.
Another key finding was that the material could be printed under regular lab conditions, without requiring a sealed or oxygen-free environment. Even when printed in the open air, the electrolyte still worked well, which makes the process easier for future manufacturing.
To demonstrate the flexibility of the technology, the researchers printed several different structures, including flat disks, an open honeycomb lattice, and a 0.4-in (a centimetre) solid cube.
These examples show that future batteries could be shaped to fit the product, instead of making devices fit standard battery packs. Batteries might even become part of the structure in wearables, medical implants, or aerospace parts where space is tight.
“For years, the shape of a battery has dictated the shape of the device it powers,” said Alexis Maurel, PhD, the study’s lead researcher and a faculty member in UTEP’s Department of Metallurgical, Materials and Biomedical Engineering.
“We are showing that you can print a high-performing electrolyte battery component with any shape and place it almost anywhere you want. That changes what designers are able to imagine.”
The team also looked at how different solvents affect both the printing process and the battery’s operation. The study notes that earlier research had not focused much on this part of printable battery electrolytes.
One mixture remained especially stable during repeated tests, which helped the team identify which combination could work best in the future.
“This research demonstrates how advanced manufacturing and energy technologies are merging to create entirely new possibilities for battery design,” said Kenith Meissner, PhD, dean of the Miguel A Loya College of Engineering.
“By developing a scalable method to 3D-print battery electrolytes in virtually any shape, Maurel and his collaborators are helping position UTEP at the forefront of next-generation energy storage research while providing our students with hands-on experience in technologies that are critical to the future of aerospace, transportation and advanced manufacturing.”
Researchers now aim to build complete batteries
UTEP researchers worked on this project with Sandia National Laboratories. Next, they plan to improve the electrolyte mixtures and use the printed material to build complete battery cells.
This study is part of Maurel’s larger research on 3D-printed batteries. If it works out, the technology could lead to new battery designs that better meet the needs of future electronics, transportation, and aerospace applications, while giving engineers greater freedom in product design.
The study was published in the journal Communications Engineering.