The quest for high-performance energy storage systems, battery for example, is central to modern technological progress, driving innovations in portable electronics, renewable energy integration, electric vehicles, and grid-scale storage. Rechargeable metal batteries, which rely on the plating and stripping of active metal ions like lithium, sodium, potassium, and zinc, are heralded as transformative next-generation energy storage chemistries. These systems promise exceptional energy densities, operational flexibility, and cost-effectiveness. However, despite decades of research and development, achieving their full potential remains a formidable challenge, necessitating concerted efforts to address issues related to stability, safety, efficiency, and scalability.

This Research Topic aims to provide a comprehensive platform for advancing the scientific, technological, and practical frontiers of high-energy metal batteries. The scope will cover diverse aspects of metal batteries, including the fundamental understanding of related physicochemical processes, the development of advanced electrode materials and electrolyte systems, approaches to elucidating structure–property–function relationships, and strategies for theoretical calculations, modeling, and diagnostics. Additionally, it addresses innovations in real-world battery management and their integration with renewable energy systems. By fostering interdisciplinary collaboration, this collection seeks to accelerate progress in high-energy metal batteries and contribute to their transition from the laboratory research to practical applications and commercial viability.

We welcome high-quality original research and review articles addressing any aspect of high-energy metal batteries. Potential topics include, but are not limited to:

• Materials Development: Alkali and multivalent metal anodes, high-capacity cathodes (oxygen, sulfur, iodine, etc.), and advanced electrode architectures.

• Electrolyte Design: Solid-state, aqueous, and hybrid electrolytes; novel solvent systems and salt chemistries for improved performance.

• Interface Engineering: Strategies for mitigating interfacial challenges such as dendrite formation, passivation, and electrode degradation.

• In-situ/Operando Characterization: Advanced techniques and methodologies for real-time characterization of metal batteries and related systems.

• Operational Challenges: Performance under extreme conditions (e.g., low/high temperatures, high voltages), fast charging, and long-term cycling stability.

• Diagnostics and Modeling: Advances in diagnostics and modeling, from microcosmic theoretical calculations to macroscopic system modeling studies. Artificial intelligence applied to battery research.

• Sustainability and Circular Economy: Approaches for sustainable manufacturing, recycling, and life-cycle analysis of metal battery technologies.

• Scaling and Applications: Progress in scaling up production, addressing cost challenges, and integrating high-energy batteries into renewable energy grids, electric vehicles, and portable devices.

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Frontiers in Chemistry

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