Oct 21, 2026 - Why Google is Betting on a Battery That Rusts
How Close Is Rust to Really Replacing Lithium? Lithium-ion batteries return about 90% of the electricity you put into them. Form Energy`s iron-air battery, built from rust, only gives back 40%. Five years ago, I covered this long duration energy storage bet and couldn`t pin down its efficiency. Now we have the number, and Form has raised over $2 billion since then, built a factory, and signed a major grid deal for a battery that stores power for days. A battery that wastes more than half its electricity is winning real contracts. So is this rust battery actually solving grid storage? Or is it just an expensive way to lose power?