India, Sept. 1 -- Mechanically compressing the solid electrolyte in solid-state batteries can prevent lithium dendrites from growing vertically and causing short circuits, allowing the batteries to operate for thousands of charge cycles, a new study claims.

The study by a research team from the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University provides direct evidence that lithium dendrites can originate from defects inside the solid electrolyte rather than only at its surface, resolving a long-standing debate in solid-state battery research.

Solid-state batteries are being developed as a potential alternative to conventional lithium-ion batteries because they could ultimately provide about twice the energy density of current...