Crossroads in the renaissance of rechargeable aqueous zinc batteries

Aqueous zinc batteries dominate the primary battery market with alkaline chemistries and recently have been rejuvenated as rechargeable devices to compete for grid-scale energy storage applications. Tremendous effort has been made in the past few years and improved cyclability has been demonstrated in both alkaline, neutral, and mild acidic systems. In this review/perspective, we will elucidate the merits of rechargeable aqueous zinc batteries through side-by-side comparison to Li-ion batteries, examine the challenges and progress made in the pursuit of highly rechargeable alkaline and mild acidic batteries, and finally provide a holistic forward look at the technology. The focus is placed on static closed cell designs, while flow batteries and open systems like zinc-air batteries will not be included due to space constraint.

Automated summary

Aqueous zinc batteries are dominating the primary battery market with alkaline chemistries and are now being developed as rechargeable devices for grid-scale energy storage applications. Significant progress has been made in improving cyclability in alkaline, neutral, and mild acidic systems, with a focus on static closed cell designs in this review. Challenges and advancements in developing highly rechargeable alkaline and mild acidic batteries are examined, while flow batteries and open systems like zinc-air batteries are excluded due to space constraints.