A new and more powerful generation of batteries may be made entirely from glass, according to the conclusions of Goodenough and his team of researchers published by the U.K. Royal Society of Chemistry. They store and transmit energy at temperatures lower than traditional lithium-ion packs and can be made using globally abundant supplies of sodium.

The research could result in “a safe, low-cost all-solid-state cell with a huge capacity giving a large energy density and a long cycle life suitable for powering an all-electric road vehicle or for storing electric power from wind or solar energy,” the researchers wrote in the peer-reviewed journal Energy & Environmental Science.