I don’t know what’s cooler, that I could coat everything I have in micron-thin battery film, or the fact that these guys are using viruses to do the dirty work. Get ready for some gray goo.
The technique is cool but nothing new, and there’s nothing crazy about the batteries themselves (other than the fact that they’re only a couple micrometers wide), but the process MIT is working on is reportedly inexpensive and does not involve insane amounts of caustic materials or extremely high temperatures. Let’s hope they’re rechargeable, though.