The following submission statement was provided by /u/Sariel007:

>As demand for electric vehicles soars, scientists are searching for materials to make sustainable batteries. Lignin, the stuff that makes trees woody, is shaping up to be a strong contender.

>"Lignin is the glue in the trees that kind of glues the cellulose fibres together and also makes the trees very stiff," explains Lauri Lehtonen, head of Stora Enso's lignin-based battery solution, Lignode.

>Lignin, a polymer, contains carbon. And carbon makes a great material for a vital component in batteries called the anode. The lithium ion battery in your phone almost certainly has a graphite anode – graphite is a form of carbon with a layered structure.

>Stora Enso's engineers decided that they could extract lignin from the waste pulp already being produced at some of their facilities and process that lignin to make a carbon material for battery anodes. The firm is partnering with Swedish company Northvolt and plans to manufacture batteries as early as 2025.

Please reply to OP's comment here: https://old.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/10350rb/the_promise_of_batteries_that_come_from_trees/j2wtcf3/