Redefining batteries as multifunctional materials
Other text in scientific journal, 2026

The shift towards electrified transportation, aerospace and distributed technologies demands energy-storage systems that are efficient and structurally integrated. Rechargeable batteries, conventionally implemented as monofunctional components, introduce mass, volume and carbon penalties at the system level, revealing the need to rethink batteries as multifunctional materials rather than stand-alone devices.

Author

Richa Chaudhary

Computational Mechanics and Materials Engineering

Leif Asp

Chalmers, Industrial and Materials Science, Material and Computational Mechanics

Varun Chaudhary

Chalmers, Industrial and Materials Science, Materials and manufacture

Nature Reviews Materials

2058-8437 (eISSN)

Vol. In Press

Subject Categories (SSIF 2025)

Other Chemical Engineering

Energy Engineering

Energy Systems

Areas of Advance

Energy

DOI

10.1038/s41578-026-00920-8

More information

Latest update

4/24/2026