Up to now, almost all batteries, whether in smartphones or electric cars, contain metal compounds such as lithium, cobalt or nickel. The extraction and recycling of the metals are complex, expensive and often associated with environmental problems. Our guest, Birgit Esser, Professor of Organic Chemistry at the University of Ulm, is researching organic batteries that are based on plastics, or more precisely synthetic polymers, and do not require metals. Such organic batteries are resource-friendly and easier to recycle. Less energy is needed to process plastic than metal, making them more environmentally friendly and less expensive. Moreover, this type of battery has already reached the market. An MIT spin-off called PolyJoule has already produced and sold over 10,000 such plastic batteries.
