How can additive manufacturing enable multifunctional batteries that combine energy storage and mechanical strength?

Abstract While conventional batteries have historically been designed to prioritize a single functionality (energy storage), emerging concepts are increasingly transitioning toward hybrid multifunctional systems in which energy storage is integrated with structural or other functional capabilities. By utilizing the geometric freedom provided by additive manufacturing, battery architecture can move beyond simple shape conformability toward architectural multifunctionality, where electrochemical performance and mechanical load-bearing capabilities are optimized through 3D design, thus surpassing the limitations of traditional planar battery architectures. While previous work in the field has successfully demonstrated the feasibility of 3D printing of individual battery components and full battery systems, these efforts have typically prioritized electrochemical storage as a singular function. Similarly, while structural battery research has advanced the use of composite materials for load-bearing storage, these systems often remain limited by conventional laminate manufacturing techniques. This article addresses this gap by examining emerging routes toward load-bearing energy storage, including continuous fiber reinforcement printing strategies, wire-shaped battery architectures, and phase-separation strategies. By leveraging advanced manufacturing techniques to integrate mechanical and electrochemical functionalities at the architectural level, battery components can evolve from mechanically passive elements into active load-bearing structural members. This concept enables a more efficient use of space, in which the entire battery volume contributes simultaneously to energy storage and mechanical stability. These advances pave the way toward a redefinition of battery architecture, enabling structurally functional energy storage systems capable of supporting or even replacing conventional structural components.