These Paper Batteries — Yes, Paper — Are Best of CES Winners. They’re Coming For Your Tech
Sometimes it can be a little frustrating to wander the halls of the world’s biggest tech show and see so little that’s designed to solve the planet’s biggest problems. every time i attend International Consumer Electronics ShowI pay close attention to technologies that have the potential to leave an imprint on society in deeper ways—and I discovered a huge surprise at this year’s show. (Here are some The most jaw-dropping discovery.)
Read more: Official Best of CES 2025 Winners Presented by CNET Group
Singapore startup Flint makes rechargeable paper batteries, named winner by CNET CES Best of Sustainability Award Thursday. They’re flexible enough to shrink to the size of a coin cell battery or be embedded in a smartwatch band.
Flint’s paper battery has the same structure as a traditional lithium-ion battery, but that’s where the similarities end. Their key ingredient is cellulose, which acts as a natural medium for ion transfer between the anode and cathode, a key chemical exchange necessary for the battery to work.
The mining and production of lithium-ion batteries results in massive carbon dioxide emissions, toxic chemical leaks and depleted waterways, all of which contribute to the broader climate crisis. As our battery needs continue to grow rather than shrink, solutions like Flint are key to reducing the environmental impact of our obsession with technology.
“Our supply chain is so abundant that we don’t need rare earths or toxic materials and scarce materials,” said Flint co-founder Carlo Charles. Some of these elements, such as zinc and manganese, can even be found in your food and body, he adds.
Disposing of traditional batteries also puts a huge strain on the environment, but paper batteries biodegrade within six weeks. Charles told me that in the team’s office in Singapore, they compost used batteries to nourish office plants.
Flint’s batteries are biodegradable and can be used to further feed plants. Feed the plants.
Currently, the company is focused on making smaller batteries for small consumer electronics, but there’s no reason these batteries can’t be scaled up one day. “We want to take it a step further and see how we can embed our product into your smartphone,” Charles said. “Foldable smartphones may have foldable batteries built into them… There’s huge potential.”
Going a step further, paper batteries could be scaled to fit the doors of an electric door or the wings of an electric airplane. Because the batteries are so thin, they can be layered without posing a fire hazard like previous generations of lithium-ion batteries.
A week before CES, Flint secured $2 million in funding, which the company plans to use to build a pilot production facility in Singapore. Charles said establishing a pilot in a country without cobalt, lithium or other minerals traditionally used to make batteries would help demonstrate that the battery industry can be decentralized.
The company is already planning to return to CES next year in a larger capacity, although this year’s booth itself is an impressive feat of sustainable engineering. The whole thing is made of cardboard and fits into a box.
It is with all this that Flint planted a flag at CES 2025. We’re excited to see what’s next for the company’s paper batteries.
