In the pursuit of more reliable and affordable energy storage solutions, interest in batteries powered by water-based electrolytes is surging. Today’s commercial aqueous batteries lack the energy density and cycle life required to compete in the fast-growing transportation and grid storage sectors, but this will change as new materials and cell design strategies are developed. Many of the constraints of traditional aqueous batteries have been alleviated by innovations such as selective membranes, lean-water electrolytes and new types of electrode reactions. As a result, an unprecedentedly broad range of electrode chemistries may be paired in previously impossible ways via modular cell designs to achieve performance metrics unattainable by traditional aqueous batteries. These innovations, however, change the properties for which aqueous batteries are traditionally known, and may result in compromises. This Review starts by examining the historical evolution of aqueous batteries, summarizing their essential merits and limitations. It then analyses how modern chemistries and cell designs may further strengthen the merits of aqueous batteries and address their limits while sometimes compromising prior merits, providing a holistic and critical overview of modern aqueous battery design.

在寻求更可靠、更实惠的储能解决方案的过程中，人们对水基电解质电池的兴趣正在激增。今天的商业水系电池缺乏在快速增长的运输和电网存储领域竞争所需的能量密度和循环寿命，但随着新材料和电池设计策略的开发，这种情况将会改变。选择性膜、贫水电解质和新型电极反应等创新技术已经缓解了传统水系电池的许多局限性。因此，空前广泛的电极化学物质可以通过模块化电池设计以以前不可能的方式配对，以实现传统水系电池无法达到的性能指标。然而这些创新，改变传统上已知的水性电池的特性，并可能导致妥协。本综述首先考察了水系电池的历史演变，总结了它们的基本优点和局限性。然后，它分析了现代化学和电池设计如何进一步加强水系电池的优点并解决它们的局限性，同时有时会损害先前的优点，从而提供对现代水系电池设计的整体和批判性概述。