The prospect of your smartphone and smartwatch not needing a recharge for days is a step closer thanks to a breakthrough in battery technology.

Monash University, in collaboration with industry partner Ionic Industries, said the pair had created supercapacitors thinner than a human hair yet capable of storing large amounts of energy.

The two organisations said the supercapacitors could radically increase the energy a phone battery could store in the same or a lesser volume. Batteries could be fully recharged in minutes and last longer than present battery technologies.

Researchers used an ion beam to etch supercapacitors on to wafers made of graphene.

Ionic Industries chief executive Mark Muzzin said the first battery prototype should be available within six months and more sophisticated prototypes in three to five years.

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