This company was no longer operating as of June 2019.

The Ryden Dual Carbon Battery uses carbon fibers from cotton to make batteries that are safer, longer-lasting, cheaper and more sustainable than conventional battery technologies, according to the company.

In this battery developed by Power Japan Plus, the positive and negative electrodes are made from inexpensive carbon recovered from organic cotton. Between the electrodes is an organic electrolyte which contains natural lithium salts. No rare earth or heavy metals are used, which makes the batteries easier and safer to dispose than conventional batteries. Additionally, all the battery components can be reused, making it 100% recyclable.

The distance the ions travel between the electrodes within the battery is shorter than in conventional batteries, making charging 20 times faster. This makes it ideal for use in electric vehicles, which use the batteries for faster charging and for capturing energy from braking. Furthermore, the battery is able to discharge completely, and can achieve 3,000 charging cycles before the performance of the battery diminishes, according to Power Japan Plus.

Improved batteries for electric vehicles and households are an important component of efforts to better integrate renewable energy supplies into the energy mix, thus helping to mitigate climate change. Just 38% of the batteries sold in the EU in 2013 were recovered for recycling, and if conventional batteries are disposed of properly, the toxic chemicals and heavy metals they contain become hazardous to the environment. The dual carbon battery technology matches high battery performance requirements with low environmental impact.