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74lithium-ion battery. Not only is their battery flexible, compact and high in energy density, it can also withstand all sorts of mechanical wear and tear without compromising performance and user safety. This makes it the perfect energy source for future wearable devices.Worse for wearMost handheld electronics, such as smartphones and tablets, use conventional lithium-ion rechargeable batteries made with metal foil or metal plates. These batteries are rigid, bulky and heavy %u2013 not practical in intelligent textiles. Although bendable lithium batteries are available on the market, these are only slightly more flexible than conventional batteries, and not flexible enough for use in intelligent textiles. They also store little power. %u201cBendable batteries still work if they are curved, but %u2013 due to their rigid and brittle metal foils %u2013 not if they are folded,%u201d explains Prof. Zheng. %u201cFor a battery to truly function well on wearable devices such as heated jackets and smart insoles, it needs to have the same consistency and flexibility as fabric. That was how we came up with the idea of replacing the metal foil with a metallic fabric.%u201d Capacity, durability and safetyTo make the fabric conduct electricity, the team developed a patented award-winning Polymer-Assisted Metal Deposition (PAMD) technology. This technology involves grafting polymer brushes onto yarns and then depositing POWER THAT BENDS