These paper batteries — yes, paper — are among the winners at CES. They’re coming for your technology

It can sometimes feel a little frustrating to wander the halls of the world’s largest tech fair and find very few designs dedicated to tackling our planet’s biggest problems. Every time I come CESI keep my eyes open for technology that has the potential to leave its mark on society in a more profound way, and at this year’s expo, I discovered something amazing. (Here’s some more Most eye-catching discoveries.)

Read more: Official Best of CES 2025 winners, awarded by the CNET Group

Singaporean startup Flint makes rechargeable paper batteries, which CNET selected as an award winner Best of CES Sustainability Award Thursday. It is completely flexible and can be shrunk down to the size of a coin battery or included in a smartwatch strap.

Paper flint batteries share their structure with conventional lithium-ion batteries, but that’s where the similarities end. Its main component is cellulose, which acts as a natural medium for transferring ions between the anode and cathode, an important chemical exchange necessary for batteries to function.

The mining and production of lithium-ion batteries is responsible for significant carbon dioxide emissions, leaking toxic chemicals and depleting waterways, all of which contribute to the broader climate crisis. As our battery requirements increase rather than decrease, solutions like Flint’s are key to reducing the environmental impact of our technology obsession.

“Our supply chain is so abundant, we don’t need rare earths or toxic materials and rare earths,” said Carlo Charles, co-founder of Flint. Some of them, like zinc and manganese, can be found in your food and body, he added.

Disposing of conventional batteries also puts a huge strain on the environment, but paper batteries can biodegrade within six weeks. Charles told me that at the team’s office in Singapore, they compost their used batteries to feed their office plants.

Right now, the company is focused on making smaller batteries for smaller consumer electronics, but there’s no reason why it can’t scale up one day. “We want to go further and see how we can integrate our products into your smartphones,” Charles said. “Foldable smartphones could have foldable batteries, there is a lot of potential.”

In the future, the paper battery could be scaled to fit the door of an electric door or the wing of an electric plane. Because the batteries are so thin, they can be placed in layers, and they don’t pose the same fire risk as their lithium-ion battery predecessors.

The week before CES, Flint secured $2 million in funding that the company plans to use to build a pilot production facility in Singapore. Charles says setting up the pilot in a country with none of the cobalt, lithium or other metals traditionally used in battery making will help prove that the battery industry can be decentralized.

The company is already planning to return to next year’s CES with a larger presence — although this year’s booth was an impressive feat of sustainable engineering in its own right. Everything is made of cardboard that can be packed into one box.

With all this said, Flint has its flag flying at CES 2025. We’re excited to see where the company’s paper batteries go next.