Leading the Pack: Next‐Generation Batteries for Humanoid Robotics

Transitioning from demonstration to commercial deployment of humanoid robots offers the potential to accelerate multiple industries. As mechatronic and software demands increase, uninterrupted application requires a quadrupling of battery system volumetric and gravimetric capacity. First considered here are the unique challenges of the humanoid robot platform. The upper bounds of further optimized current generation battery materials, electrodes (electrode coatings, electrolytes, etc.), and battery design (cylindrical, pouch, or prismatic) can narrow the gap of practical capacities toward theoretical limits, but only so far. Application cases indicate energy demands of 10+ kWh, which will necessitate next‐generation batteries with specific energy 1000 Wh L −1 (Li metal or Li alloy anodes, solid electrolytes, and/or conversion chemistries: metal‐air or Li‐S) and corresponding re‐evaluation of cell and pack design for integration into humanoid robot systems. Stopgap improvements and standardizations in battery pack technologies are essential for swappable batteries to bypass interim capacity limitations. This note provides an overview of the challenges and opportunities in energy storage of humanoid robots, with the goal of catalyzing researchers and industry to advance this critical technology.