A Familiar Face in the Energy Revolution
You’ve likely heard a lot about lithium, cobalt and solid-state batteries these days. What if I shared with you that our future energy storage might rely on molecules that build us? In laboratories worldwide, peptides are becoming famous for being environmentally safe, simple to customize and powerful. Although the industry looks for rare metals and works on difficult chemistry, biology is quietly changing the field. The discovery adds a surprise — and could help improve power storage and delivery all over the world.
It’s not pure science fiction; peptide-based energy storage is already a possibility. Some scientists are already trying it, believing that in some cases, biology can solve problems that chemists can’t address. The authors from the University of Cambridge reported in a Journal of Materials Chemistry A article (April 2025) that their peptide electrode performed as well as lithium-ion batteries, but with reduced toxicity and environmental impact. This fact ought to get our attention.
How Do Peptides Keep Energy?
Peptides are formed by short sequences of amino acids, but their folding, assembly and ability to carry electrical signals allow them to be used for many purposes. Dr. Blaikie from ETH Zurich recently informed readers in Nature Energy that building peptide nanofibers can create porous structures in batteries or capacitors that are important for movement of ions.
Think about a special protein the shape of a sponge that can charge swiftly, release the energy and after a while break down naturally. That is no exaggeration. Scientists at TUM showed this was possible back in March, with the support of the European Innovation Council. Even at room temperature, their battery based on peptides carried out thousands of cycles and could be easily composted inside 60 days.
Real-World Use Cases and Current Progress
Could we see peptide batteries being used this year or next? Surprisingly close. Recently, the Finnish firm BioVolt has started testing peptide-based supercapacitors on solar microgrids with energy co-ops in Kenya. BioVolt stated in its March 2025 press release that their first tests achieved an additional 15% in energy efficiency over common lithium-ion systems and cut system weight by 40%.
Along with rural electrification, peptides are being studied to find uses in biomedical research. Imagine there is a sensor placed in the heart that uses a small biodegradable battery, then disappears after giving out data — without the need for surgical removal. Joint researchers from Johns Hopkins and Stanford are doing just that, preparing to begin clinical trials late in 2025.
Why Experts Are Betting on Biology
As Dr. Radhika Shah, leader in material science and advisor to various EU biotechnology panels, points out, for a long period researchers have tried to get inorganic materials to act as flexibly as biology already does in nature. Not only are they sustainable, but peptides can be programmed too.
A group at Imperial College London is developing polymer-peptide solutions that copy the remarkable strength, built-in flexibility and electrical conductivity of spider silk, with excellent results. The way you build an energy storage device, she says, is crucial. “With peptides, we can build objects and structures on a nano scale and the design ideas come from nature.”
Challenges to Overcome, But the Potential Is Clear
Even so, peptide batteries encounter certain challenges. At present, it’s still hard to build sodium ion batteries in mass, because they cannot compete with lithium systems in energy performance. Peptide-based systems could become commercially viable as early as 2027, the McKinsey & Co. energy innovation briefing stated in April 2025.
From 2020 to 2023, lithium prices increased by more than 400%. As a result of new technology in synthetic biology, automation and biotech, the price of peptide production is going down. We are almost at the end of the stability trend.
A Final Thought: What If Biology Had the Blueprint All Along?
Many want clean energy and peptides can deliver without harming our planet or anyone else. They possess these traits because they’re renewable and flexible and can do jobs that we used to think only required heavy metals.
Of course, the era of lithium demand won’t go on forever. But biology? It’s a trend that will last. If we act wisely, we’ll no longer work against nature and instead hear what it is telling us. Interestingly, the same things that started life could shape our energy future as well.