Tubular form factor batteries to enable affordable and durable fast charging

Recently, large battery cells have been rapidly adopted to increase energy density and reduce production costs. However, for the cylindrical form factor, growth in size—such as the increasingly popular 4680 cells—leads to a steep drop in the heat-dissipation rate, limiting fast-charging capability. To address this, we propose a tubular form factor that integrates a central cooling channel, drastically improving thermal management while maintaining the advantages of large cylindrical cells. Our results demonstrate that this enhanced cooling enables larger cell sizes under identical charging times, reducing production costs via economies of scale ($2.9 kWh −1 reduction for 10-min charging). Furthermore, the reduced, uniform temperature within the cell suppresses heat-induced degradation, significantly extending cycle life compared to conventional cylindrical cells (15.5% higher capacity retention after 500 cycles at 6C). Tubular batteries, while remaining compatible with existing ecosystems of cylindrical cells, represent a scalable evolution toward low-cost, durable fast charging.