Science has done it again. Another battery breakthrough is here to change batteries forever, this time by extending life thanks to nanowires.

The battery advancement, made by researchers at the University of California Irvine, means these batteries can offer longer lives than current lithium-ion units. In fact these nanowire batteries can withstand hundreds of thousands of charges without showing any signs of degradation.

That could mean future batteries last a lot longer – ideal for electric cars. Imagine buying a car or phone in the future where you never have to worry about battery damage or how you charge it to protect that. These could even be used in future spacecraft.

Nanowires, which are thousands of times thinner than a human hair, have a high conductivity and large surface area, making them ideal for future batteries. The issue has always been that they easily broke down after several charges.

The Irvine researchers coated the gold nanowires in manganese dioxide shells encased in an electrolyte of gel. The result is no loss of power even when recharged 200,000 times over three months.

Now we simply need nanowires to get manufactured en masse, while advancing capacity and there could be a viable alternative to current battery options. We say simply.

READ: Future batteries, coming soon