Sustainable electric cars are crucial to eliminating oil dependence and reaching net zero carbon emissions. For years science has struggled to find a battery that is both economically viable and holds a charge for long periods. New research may have found the solution in an innovative solid-state battery (SSB) material.

So far, the best battery technology we’ve used for electric cars is lithium-ion batteries, which are expensive, heavy, and lose life quickly. Lithium-ion batteries depend on a liquid electrolyte to assist the flow of charged ions during charging and discharging, posing a safety hazard if it spills.

New solid-state batteries, made entirely of solid materials, eliminate this risk but come with their own limitation. When lithium ions move through them, they expand and contract, causing damage to the SSB. However, research published in Nature Materials has discovered a new super-stabile SSB material that keeps the same volume as ions move through it. It prevents electrode damage and allows for continuous battery life without degradation to the material.

Testing found no degradation across 400 charge/discharge cycles, which is unheard of for lithium-ion batteries. “The absence of capacity fading over 400 cycles clearly indicates the superior performance of this material compared with those reported for conventional all-solid-state cells with layered materials,” study co-author and Associate Professor Neeraj Sharma said in a statement.

While the substance isn’t perfect yet, the team believes their finding will drastically reduce battery costs, and eventually lead to electric cars that charge quickly and maintain battery life indefinitely.