They're some fairly bold claims, but a team of researchers at the University of Leeds say they've managed to develop a new type of polymer gel that could lead to batteries that are safer, cheaper to manufacture and more flexible than traditional lithium-ion batteries. That last detail could have some particularly interesting consequences, as the researchers say it allows for batteries that can "shaped and bent to fit the geometries of virtually any device." What's more, all of that apparently comes with no compromise in performance, and the team has already licensed the technology to Polystor Energy Corporation, which is now conducting trials to commercialize the battery cells. The only cat