Chinese scientists have created a new type of battery that uses hydrogen ions to store and release energy, which could offer a safer alternative to conventional lithium-based batteries.The rechargeable, room-temperature stable battery was made possible using a rare-earth-based battery electrolyte that harnesses hydride ions, or negatively charged hydrogen ions.Experimental data shows that the battery’s specific capacity – or the amount of electrical charge it can store per unit of mass or volume – is up to six times higher than that of some conventional lithium-ion batteries.“We further constructed a multilayer stacked battery to increase the battery voltage to 1.9V, which successfully lit a yellow LED light, demonstrating that a hydride ion battery can be used to power electrical devices,” the team said in a paper published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature on September 17.“With a wide range of hydride materials for selection and optimisation, rechargeable hydride ion batteries would offer more opportunities for various applications in clean energy storage and conversion.”Conventional lithium batteries use positively-charged lithium atoms to store and release energy.