The vast majority of consumer electronics use lithium-ion batteries, and with each generation, these devices are designed smaller, lighter and with longer battery life to meet the growing demands of consumers. Each new iteration also brings the batteries that power the devices closer to the limits of their size, weight and performance.

Researchers are constantly testing new approaches and materials for making lightweight, high-performance components. The latest contender is MXene, a type of metallically conductive two-dimensional nanomaterial discovered by Drexel University researchers that has recently demonstrated potential as a current collector, the part of the battery that directs electrical current to its electrodes.

A recent paper from Drexel researchers reports that a current collector made of MXene film could reduce the battery’s weight and thickness while improving its available capacity.

Published in the journal Cell Reports Physical Science, the paper reports that MXene current collectors perform as well as the copper foils being used in current lithium-ion batteries, but they are three to four times thinner and about 10 times lighter.

Using them to make the battery components would reduce the overall weight contribution from inactive materials, allowing for more energy-storing material to be used without increasing the battery’s weight, thus improving the battery’s capacity.

The researchers also demonstrated that the MXene current collectors can be readily recycled for use in other batteries, an important step toward reducing battery waste and conserving limited material resources.

Current collectors are key to battery performance because they direct the flow of electrons within the battery, directing them to and from the electrode, which translates the chemical energy into the electrical current that powers electronic devices. They are also prime contributors to a battery’s weight—comprising nearly 15% of its total weight.

“Recent progress in battery technology is centered on improving capacity while reducing their weight,” said Yury Gogotsi, Ph.D., Distinguished University and Bach professor in Drexel’s College of Engineering, who was a leader of the research.

“But the field has also widely acknowledged the importance of finding recyclable alternatives to current battery components in order to ensure their sustainable manufacturing. Our findings suggest that MXene materials could be a strong candidate for use in the batteries of the future.”

MXenes have been tested in dozens of applications—including several in energy storage—since their discovery at Drexel more than a decade ago. Their aptitude for use as a current collector is tied to their exceptional electrical conductivity, excellent flexibility and high mechanical strength. MXenes also remain electrochemically stable in acidic and corrosive electrolytes, and are dispersible in water, which allows for easy processing.

“This is an exciting finding because MXenes are compatible with a variety of electrode materials, so they have the potential to improve next-generation batteries without requiring significant structural design changes,” said Professor Patrice Simon, Ph.D., a co-author of the research from Université de Toulouse in France.

The final test of the components examined the cycling stability and recyclability of the MXene current collector. After eight weeks of continuous charging and discharging, the MXene–graphite electrode maintained good adhesion; the graphite active material remained evenly distributed, and did not detach from the MXene film.

The MXene current collector also preserved its layered structure, showing no degradation. Using a simple and environmentally friendly recycling process developed by the team, the electrode was disassembled and reconstituted using reclaimed materials for the current collector. Electrochemical testing confirmed that its performance remained unchanged.

“As battery materials become increasingly scarce, and sustainability and circular economy become increasingly important, it will be essential to design components that can be reused,” said Yuan Zhang, Ph.D., who is a post-doctoral researcher in Gogotsi’s lab and co-author of the research.

“Thanks to their outstanding electrochemical durability, MXenes can be recycled without losing much of their exceptional properties.”

The investigation was led by Sokhna Dieng, Schlumberger Future Fellow in Gogotsi’s lab, who contributed to the work as part of her doctoral research. She plans to continue exploring MXenes as conductive additives and other passive components in batteries that can improve performance and also enhance safety by preventing dendrite growth.

“We envision batteries with MXene components being used one day in wearable and portable microelectronics, where size and weight are absolutely critical and the amount of material required is minimal,” Gogotsi said.

“Another potential use is in systems where low weight is essential, such as drones or other flying vehicles.”

A trial involving five major carmakers opens at London’s High Court Monday, marking the latest chapter of the dieselgate emissions scandal that has rocked the auto industry for a decade.

The High Court will decide in a three-month trial whether systems installed in Mercedes, Ford, Peugeot-Citroen, Renault and Nissan diesel vehicles were designed to cheat clean air laws.

The trial of the five lead defendants will set a precedent for other manufacturers, potentially paving the way for billions of pounds in compensation.

The claims were brought on behalf of 1.6 million motorists against 14 carmakers, including Jaguar Land Rover, Toyota, Vauxhall-Opel and BMW, among others.

Martyn Day, lawyer at Leigh Day representing the claimants, said the case impacts “nearly all the manufacturers in this country.”

“It is a huge case for the British public,” he told AFP, adding that it could lead to “serious amounts of compensation.”

The dieselgate scandal first erupted in September 2015, when German automaker Volkswagen admitted to fitting millions of vehicles with software to make engines appear less polluting in regulatory tests than in real driving conditions.

It caused waves in the global car industry, ensnaring several other top carmakers and leading to legal action in multiple countries.

Pollution

The court in London will examine evidence to determine whether major carmakers installed so-called defeat devices in cars to reduce nitrogen oxide readings in order to cheat emissions tests.

The five lead defendants deny that their systems were designed to circumvent the tests.

The vehicles “looked less polluting during the testing, but as soon as you were outside the testing regime, those emission levels went massively up,” Day told AFP.

Adam Kamenetzky, one of the claimants, said he felt “defrauded” after he bought a Mercedes SUV in 2018 on the belief that it was less polluting than other models.

“We live in a built-up neighborhood in London where there are children with lungs that can be harmed immeasurably by the emissions that these cars are producing,” he told AFP.

But it will take some time for any possible compensation to reach claimants like Kamenetzky.

The trial beginning Monday must first determine whether carmakers are liable, before a separate compensation phase can follow next year.

German automaker Mercedes and US carmaker Ford both rejected the claims as having “no merit,” while Japan’s Nissan declined to comment.

French manufacturers Renault and Stellantis, parent of Peugeot and Citroen, both said the vehicles they sold were compliant with regulations at the time.

When the High Court in 2020 found Volkswagen had used defeat devices to cheat emissions tests, the German automaker settled out of court, paying £193 million ($259 million) to 91,000 British motorists.

Overall, to date, Volkswagen has had to pay more than 32 billion euros ($37 billion) in penalties over the scandal, mostly in the United States.

© 2025 AFP

UK police are building a new system to help fight economic crime and improve the tracking, management and recovery of criminal assets, the Police Digital Service (PDS) has announced.

Set to replace the legacy Joint Asset Recovery Database (JARD) that has been used since 2003 to locate and seize illicit assets – including cash, property, vehicles and high-value goods – the Asset Recovery IT (ARIT) project aims to streamline the way criminal assets are tracked and shared, help disparate teams work more effectively together, and improve the evidence provided to courts.

It will also aim to prevent criminal money from funding further illegal activity, with PDS committing to working closely with police officers, financial investigators, prosecutors and local authorities to build a cloud-based system that meets their individual needs.

The system is also expected to support international and cryptocurrency recovery capabilities, helping more than 3,500 users to manage the recovery of assets held abroad or in digital currencies. All of this will take place within a single, streamlined system.

The ARIT announcement follows the Home Office’s conclusion that JARD’s technology was outdated, expensive to maintain, and lacked the flexibility needed for more complex investigations. 

The need to replace JARD has been known for some time, with the Home Office initially publishing a contract notice – worth an estimated £25m – for the “Replacement of the Joint Asset Recovery Database (JARD) IT Systems” in August 2020.

“JARD is an aging system that has been modified and updated on a number of occasions over its 15-year plus lifecycle,” reads the notice. “It is now, however, reaching the end of its useful life as it is not conducive to modern expectations of electronic data capture and subsequent analytical filtering and manipulation.”

Now contracted to NEC Software Solutions – the Japanese software supplier behind the facial recognition algorithms used by the Metropolitan Police and South Wales Police – for an estimated £14.4m, PDS said it is aiming to have a “minimum viable product” in place by September 2026.

At this point, JARD will be decommissioned, with the more than 180 government and law enforcement agencies using it – including HM Revenue & Customs – being transitioned over to the national ARIT system by the end of that year.

Computer Weekly contacted the Home Office about what happened with the earlier contract notice – as PDS was only formally commissioned to work on JARD in April 2024 – and why it has taken five years to find a supplier to develop a replacement for a system that was deemed out of date in August 2020. However, the Home Office had not responded by the time of publication.

“ARIT represents a bold step forward in our mission to equip UK law enforcement with the digital tools needed to tackle the evolving threat of economic crime,” said Tony Estaugh, PDS CEO and the former biometrics commissioner of England and Wales.

“This project is a testament to the impact of collaboration and innovation in public service, and I’m proud of the role PDS is playing in delivering a solution that helps safeguard communities and ensure that crime doesn’t pay.”

Marco Fiorentino, the executive director at NEC, added: “The new system will make it easier to protect the public and stop criminals from profiting from illegal activity. With ARIT, whether it’s a police officer seizing a suspect’s luxury car, a financial investigator tracking laundered cryptocurrency, or a council officer handling illicit cash, they’ll be able to log and track evidence quickly and simply.  

“This will lead to quicker action, clearer evidence, and improved results in court.”

PDS said the project falls under the Anti-Money Laundering and Asset Recovery (AMLAR) Programme, which is led by the Home Office’s Economic Crime Division, and forms a “key” plank of the department’s wider Economic Crime Plan.

According to the plan, the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA) – one of the law enforcement bodies that will be using ARIT – estimated in 2021 that, while exact amounts are unknown, it is a “realistic possibility” that over £100bn is laundered through the UK or UK corporate structures every year.

In May 2024, the UK’s then-deputy foreign secretary, Conservative MP Andrew Mitchell, said that nearly 40% of the entire world’s “dirty money” is going through the City of London and other crown dependencies.

The latest Home Office statistics on illicit asset seizure show that £284.5m worth of assets were recovered from confiscation, forfeiture and civil recovery orders in the financial year ending March 2025. This represents an increase of 15% on the previous financial year.