JUNE 19, 2026
Startups Are Using 3-D Printing to Place Batteries Inside Devices of Any Shape
A growing number of startups are developing techniques to 3-D print batteries directly inside devices, a manufacturing approach that has received relatively little public attention. The Wall Street Journal reported that this method could enable energy storage in any form factor, from lightweight consumer electronics to military drones and nanoscale robots. The core battery manufacturing process has changed little in roughly 30 years, with most recent innovations focusing on battery chemistry rather than physical fabrication.
The conventional battery industry has spent decades refining the chemistry of energy storage — pursuing cheaper electric-vehicle cells and long-anticipated solid-state designs — while the physical method of manufacturing batteries has remained largely static for about 30 years. A separate, less-publicized track of innovation is now challenging that stasis: the 3-D printing of batteries directly into the structures of devices.
The Wall Street Journal reported on the work of startups attempting to use additive manufacturing techniques to embed energy storage wherever it is needed, rather than inserting pre-formed battery packs into fixed compartments. One example cited was Material Hybrid Manufacturing, which is working to 3-D print batteries inside SkyRaider drones, allowing the energy storage to conform to the interior geometry of the aircraft.
The potential applications described in the reporting span a wide range of scales and sectors. At the consumer level, 3-D-printed batteries could enable lighter and longer-lasting gadgets by filling irregular cavities that standard rectangular or cylindrical cells cannot occupy. At the defense level, the technology could extend the range of military drones by distributing battery mass throughout the airframe. At the smallest scale, the approach could theoretically enable nanoscale robots that incorporate their own onboard power source.