Magnesium Ions Powering Future City

Magnesium Batteries: The Next Power Move?

Jordan Keane in Tech & Innovation September 2025 • 3 min read.

"Explore the groundbreaking potential of magnesium batteries and how they could revolutionize energy storage."

Our world is increasingly reliant on sustainable, high-performance energy storage. From smartphones to electric vehicles, the demand for better batteries is constantly growing. While lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) have dominated the market, limitations in cost, safety, and resource availability are pushing researchers to explore alternatives. Rechargeable magnesium batteries (RMBs) have emerged as a compelling contender, offering a unique blend of advantages.

Magnesium is abundant, inexpensive, and offers high volumetric capacity. Magnesium is also safer than lithium. These features make RMBs an attractive option for next-generation energy storage. However, significant hurdles remain before RMBs can compete with LIBs. One of the biggest challenges is the strong polarization of magnesium ions, which hinders their movement within the battery.

This article delves into the recent progress and ongoing challenges in developing advanced electrode materials for rechargeable magnesium batteries. We'll explore how scientists are designing innovative materials to overcome these limitations and unlock the full potential of magnesium as a game-changing battery technology.

Why Magnesium Batteries?

Magnesium offers several key advantages over lithium:

While magnesium boasts these advantages, its strong polarization presents a significant challenge. Magnesium ions tend to interact strongly with their surrounding environment, making it difficult for them to move freely within the battery's electrode materials and electrolytes.

Abundant and Inexpensive: Magnesium is far more abundant in the Earth's crust than lithium, which translates to lower material costs.
High Volumetric Capacity: Magnesium can potentially store more energy per unit volume compared to lithium.
Enhanced Safety: Magnesium is less prone to forming dendrites. Dendrites are metallic structures that can cause short circuits and thermal runaway in lithium-ion batteries.
Dendrite-Free Operation: The dendrite-free characteristic of magnesium metal electrodes greatly enhances battery safety and longevity.

Overcoming this hurdle is crucial for creating RMBs with high performance and long cycle life. Researchers are actively investigating novel electrode materials and electrolytes that can facilitate the efficient insertion and extraction of magnesium ions.

The Future of Energy Storage

Magnesium batteries hold immense promise as a sustainable and high-performance energy storage solution. While challenges remain, the ongoing research and development efforts are paving the way for a future where RMBs can power our world. It has the potential to offer safer, cheaper, and more sustainable energy solutions.

About this Article -

This article was crafted using a human-AI hybrid and collaborative approach. AI assisted our team with initial drafting, research insights, identifying key questions, and image generation. Our human editors guided topic selection, defined the angle, structured the content, ensured factual accuracy and relevance, refined the tone, and conducted thorough editing to deliver helpful, high-quality information.See our About page for more information.

This article is based on research published under:

DOI-LINK: 10.1016/j.ensm.2018.11.033, Alternate LINK

Title: Challenges And Recent Progress In The Design Of Advanced Electrode Materials For Rechargeable Mg Batteries

Subject: Energy Engineering and Power Technology

Journal: Energy Storage Materials

Publisher: Elsevier BV

Authors: Yufei Zhang, Hongbo Geng, Weifeng Wei, Jianmin Ma, Libao Chen, Cheng Chao Li

Published: 2019-07-01

Everything You Need To Know

What are the primary benefits of Magnesium Batteries compared to Lithium-ion batteries?

Magnesium Batteries (RMBs) present several advantages over Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Magnesium is significantly more abundant and inexpensive than lithium, reducing material costs. RMBs offer a high volumetric capacity, meaning they can store more energy per unit volume. They also exhibit enhanced safety due to being dendrite-free, eliminating the risk of short circuits and thermal runaway common in LIBs. The dendrite-free operation of Magnesium metal electrodes greatly enhances battery safety and longevity. This positions RMBs as a safer and more sustainable alternative.

Why is the strong polarization of magnesium ions a major challenge in the development of Rechargeable Magnesium Batteries?

The strong polarization of magnesium ions presents a significant hurdle in RMB development because it hinders their movement within the battery. Magnesium ions have a strong interaction with their surrounding environment, which makes it difficult for them to move freely through the electrode materials and electrolytes. This restricted movement impedes the efficiency of the battery, reducing its performance and cycle life. Researchers are actively working on new electrode materials and electrolytes to mitigate this issue.

How does the abundance of Magnesium impact the potential of Magnesium Batteries?

The abundance of magnesium is a key advantage for Magnesium Batteries. Magnesium is far more prevalent in the Earth's crust compared to lithium. This abundance translates directly to lower material costs, making RMBs a more economically viable option for large-scale energy storage solutions. This is important in the context of the growing demand for sustainable energy storage solutions. Therefore, the ready availability of magnesium contributes to the overall appeal and practicality of RMBs.

What role do dendrites play in the safety of Lithium-ion batteries, and how do Magnesium Batteries offer an advantage?

Dendrites are metallic structures that can form within Lithium-ion batteries, causing short circuits and potentially leading to thermal runaway, a dangerous and destructive event. Magnesium Batteries, however, are dendrite-free due to the properties of magnesium metal electrodes. This dendrite-free characteristic significantly enhances the safety of RMBs, making them a safer alternative for use in devices and applications where safety is paramount, like electric vehicles.

Besides abundance and safety, what other performance advantages do Magnesium Batteries offer, and why are these important?

Besides being abundant and inherently safer, Magnesium Batteries offer the advantage of high volumetric capacity. This means RMBs can store more energy per unit volume compared to Lithium-ion batteries. This is a critical advantage for applications where space is a premium, such as in smartphones and electric vehicles, where maximizing energy density is vital for extending operating times and improving overall performance. The high volumetric capacity contributes to the appeal of Magnesium Batteries as a next-generation energy storage solution.