Shapable robot batteries with rock strength enabled by interlocking-damping architecture

Shapable batteries are essential for lightweight and integrated robotic systems. However, existing designs struggle to simultaneously maintain high energy density and robust mechanical integrity under deformation. Here we overcome this limitation by developing a shapable structural battery based on a viscoelastic electrolyte (VE) with an interlocking-damping architecture. The viscoelastic electrolyte exhibits superior elasticity and fracture toughness, providing adhesive forces that preserve the battery’s original structures and thereby resist deformation under external loads. Meanwhile, its heterogeneous structure comprising rigid and compliant domains, redistributes internal tensile strain, dissipating strain energy and contributing to the battery’s overall deformability. The resulting arbitrarily shaped structural battery achieves an ultrahigh mechanical strength (424 MPa) and a volumetric energy density of 906 Wh L⁻¹. This study establishes a scalable design paradigm for shapable structural batteries, with broad implications for next-generation conformable embodied energy systems.