Yes, electric cars are the future. But what type of green and clean future is it, when we get stuck if our car battery is dead? Scientists are working harder than ever to try and fix the electric car range-problem. And a new solution is in sight: the lithium-air battery. In theory, a lithium-air battery can store as much energy as a regular petrol engine. Lithium-air batteries are also known as breathing batteries, because they are designed to let oxygen and lithium react to each other. In practice, the main problem with making these batteries is that chemical reactions produce unwanted side products that clog the electrodes and destroy the battery materials. A team of scientists at the University of Cambridge in the UK have now found a way to prevent this from happening. This brings the probability that we can use of the lithium-air battery a step closer to us.