One of the breakthroughs in electric vehicle development is the increase in their range compared to traditional cars. Electric vehicles can now travel several hundred kilometers on a single charge. Researchers have published a study in Advanced Science claiming to have a solution that significantly increases the range. By using a material that enhances conductivity, similar to silicon, they believe they can increase the average travel distance of electric vehicles to 1000 km or more.

Silicon is a favorable material for producing batteries due to its wide availability. However, extending battery life during charging has not been successful thus far. Silicon-based batteries can expand and contract three times more during charging before shrinking again. The main problem lies in the expansion of batteries during charging, which has prevented engineers from implementing this technology in electric cars. However, scientists have found a solution.

Researchers have utilized an electroactive polymer that can be deformed during charging, effectively increasing the dimensions of the battery. However, this method alone does not guarantee fitting larger batteries into the car. Chemical connections are needed to connect the batteries, making the battery pack more flexible and resilient for expansion during charging.

In conclusion, scientists have created batteries that are more efficient and have similar characteristics to traditional lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles. These batteries have a 40% increase in energy density, bringing researchers closer to producing batteries for electric vehicles with significantly higher energy density. They believe that producing such batteries is easier and offers more possibilities for energy storage compared to traditional lithium-ion batteries. The next step is to see how this method performs in full-scale battery production.