In a paper published earlier this month in the journal Matter, one group of engineers at the University of Maryland did just that, crafting an impressive chitin-zinc battery that’s biodegradable, but still holds considerable electrical juice. As the world moves toward a more sustainable future, the hope is that a rechargeable, crab-derived battery may be a viable alternative to, or even a replacement for, lithium-ion batteries, which are increasing in demand (hello EVs!). At the same time, lithium itself is becoming a scarce resource.

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