From Lab to Market: The Zinc–Air Challenge
🔋 Why near-neutral zinc–air batteries still haven’t reached the market
Near-neutral Zn–air batteries promise lower corrosion, better CO2 tolerance, and safer operation.
So why aren’t they commercial yet?
Because performance and lifetime still fall short of what real products need.
A clear mechanistic picture is what lets you fix the right failure modes instead of chasing improvements that don’t translate. A recent Perspective by Dr. Roman Kapaev and Prof. Malachi Noked in ACS Energy Letters shows that small changes in electrolyte or cathode design can shift the dominant chemistry, with major implications for efficiency, stability, and lifetime.
🚫 Empirical tuning isn’t enough.
âś… Commercial progress requires mechanistic insight, operando diagnostics, and clearer testing and reporting.
To turn rechargeable Zn–air from an academic concept into real technology, we must first understand why it fails, not just how to boost performance.
