Paintable battery could turn any surface into a lithium-ion battery

A lithium-ion battery that can be painted on virtually any surface has been developed at Rice University. The rechargeable battery consists of spray-painted layers, each representing the components in a traditional battery. This technique signifies traditional packaging and allows all kinds of new design and integration possibilities for storage devices. The battery materials were airbrushed onto ceramic bathroom tiles, flexible polymers, glass, stainless steel and even a beer stein to see how well they would bond with each substrate. It was reported that the hand-painted batteries were remarkably consistent in their capacities. Rice has filed for a patent on the technique, which will be further developed. There has been increasing interest in creating power sources with an improved form factor and this is the right step in that direction.