Innovator Pitch: Advancing Battery Technology for Wearable and Implantable Devices, the Current Challenges and Future Directions

Wednesday, 27 May 2026

Wearable and implantable medical devices are advancing at an extraordinary pace, unlocking new possibilities in modern healthcare, but their batteries are falling significantly behind this innovation. Relying on traditional architectures that have been in use for the last 30+ years, current storage solutions remain highly rigid, bulky, and often have underlying safety concerns due to the chemistry that has been utilised. Which, in turn, is limiting further advancements of next-generation healthcare technologies.

To address these limitations, this session will explore the rapidly emerging field of biocompatible and biodegradable batteries and how innovative materials such as hydrogels and polyhydroxyalkanoates, together with alternative designs such as thin-film technology and safer chemistries, could redefine how energy is stored within the human body.

Drawing on current research, the talk will demonstrate how these approaches can deliver flexible, safer, and more biocompatible power solutions without compromising performance. The talk will also examine the key challenges that remain to be addressed in this field, including material stability, durability, and long-term reliability.