The environmental benefits of using electricity rather than fossil fuels to power our world goes without saying— however, the process of electrifying everything has its obstacles.

One of the greatest obstacles is the limited resources of lithium, nickel, and cobalt which are all used to create batteries. Thankfully, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) recently innovated batteries that are made of cost-effective and abundant materials.

Researcher and MIT Professor Donald Sadoway, lead author of the study paper, told MIT News that he “wanted to invent something that was better, much better, than lithium-ion batteries for small-scale stationary storage, and ultimately for automotive [uses].”

What’s the problem with lithium-ion batteries?

The main issue with lithium-ion batteries is that the required material to make them is expensive, flammable, and can end up forming spiky dendrites when charged too quickly, which ultimately short out the battery.