TORRANCE, CA—Engineers at the Honda Research Institute here have developed a new type of battery that could replace traditional lithium-ion devices. Fluoride-ion chemistry, developed in collaboration with scientists at the California Institute of Technology and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, enables the use of materials with higher energy density and a more favorable environmental footprint than currently available technology.

“Fluoride-ion batteries (FIBs) offer a promising new battery chemistry with up to 10 times more energy density than currently available lithium batteries,” claims Christopher Brooks, Ph.D., chief scientist at the Honda Research Institute. “Unlike lithium-ion batteries, FIBs do not pose a safety risk due to overheating. And, obtaining the source materials for FIBs creates considerably less environmental impact than the extraction process for lithium and cobalt.