via Tech News World

Clunky old batteries may soon be a thing of the past thanks to a new energy-storage device that looks and feels like a scrap of paper.

Developed by a team of researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), the nanoengineered battery is 90 percent cellulose, made up of the same plant cells used in nearly every type of paper. Infused in that paper, though, are aligned carbon nanotubes, which act as electrodes and allow the battery to conduct electricity.

The result is a lightweight, ultra thin, completely flexible storage device that can be rolled, twisted, folded or cut into any number of shapes with no loss of mechanical integrity or efficiency. The paper batteries can also be stacked, like a ream of printer paper, to boost the total power output.