A professor at the University of Texas at Austin, inventor of the lithium-ion batteries, has developed a low-cost, safer alternative, Engadget reported.

The new battery developed by John B. Goodenough, Cockrell School senior research fellow Maria Helena Braga and their team has the capacity to store up to three times more energy than the lithium-ion batteries.

The battery can withstand a greater number of charge and discharge cycles and its increased capacity to store energy will allow electric vehicles to travel more miles in between charges.

Additionally, the battery, which can be charged within minutes rather than hours, has been developed using technology that involves glass electrolytes instead of liquid like lithium-ion.

The use of glass means that the new battery battery won't form dendrites ─ whisker-like pieces of lithium that usually form in liquid electrolytes ─ that cause lithium-ion batteries to short circuit and explode or start a fire.

The use of glass electrolytes allows the battery to function in the battery to operate in subzero degree weather and, due to the replacement of lithium with low-cost sodium, can be manufactured using environmentally-friendly materials.

The professor and his team are currently looking to pair up with battery makers to test their creation in electric vehicles and energy storage devices.