Electric cars could soon be powered by a sustainable battery–made from shellfish.
Scientists created the device out of chitin–the major structural component of crustaceans. The substance is found in the outer casings of crabs, lobsters and shrimps–and the exoskeletons of most insects.
The study was published on September 1, in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Matter, titled: A sustainable chitosan-zinc electrolyte for high-rate zinc-metal batteries. It was authored by a group of scientists, led by Professor Liangbing Hu, of the University of Maryland.