Old battery gets a high-tech makeover

Redesigned nickel-iron battery gives modern lithium-ion devices a run for their money

A rechargeable battery patented by Thomas Edison more than a century ago is staging a comeback. The nickel-iron battery may yet prove to be a viable power source for electric cars, as the inventor had intended.

Thanks to a redesign, Edison’s battery can now store almost as much energy, gram for gram, as the lithium-ion battery in Nissan’s all-electric car, the Leaf.