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Shellfish may be used in EV batteries to replace lithium


These shellfish batteries, made from crab and lobster shells, are biodegradable and can decompose in the soil after just five months.

A team of scientists at the school's Center for Materials Innovation found that crustaceans like crabs and lobsters contain a chemical in their shells called chitin, which can be used to power batteries when combined with zinc. Lithium-ion batteries, the common kind found in most of our cellphones and laptops, can take hundreds of thousands of years to break down after they're used up — not to mention the devastating environmental impact lithium extraction has on our planet. Speaking with the Guardian, Graham Newton, a professor of materials chemistry at the University of Nottingham who studies sustainable battery technology, was cautiously optimistic about the discovery.

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