One of our favorite discoveries from last year's CES was a battery made from paper (specifically, cellulose from plants). And while the big tech show in Las Vegas is a place where cool technologies tend to appear, capture attention and then vanish, the splash Flint made with its batteries again at CES 2026 was different. They're actually coming to your gadgets.

That includes your basic AA and AAA batteries made of renewable, sustainable materials. They powered toy trains that chugged around the Flint booth at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Read more: Best of CES 2026 Awards: Official List of Winners

The first Flint paper batteries, expected to come to market, will be featured in products from the company's partners, such as Logitech and Amazon, founder Carlo Charles told me. Those AA and AAA batteries, which are expected to last about as long as traditional alkaline batteries, could hit the market later this year. Another product, a super-thin battery, is being used in Apple accessories manufactured by Nimble.

The formats of these batteries are familiar because Flint isn't trying to change the way our tech products use batteries, just how those batteries are made. "We do not want to completely disrupt it; we want it to fit with the existing world right now," Charles said.

Super-thin batteries made of cellulose can be included in devices like phone accessories.

Jon Reed/CNET

Flint has started producing batteries in Singapore. The company is using local plant materials and expects that will be the case as it produces in other locations. It can use cellulose from a wide variety of plants, making it an environmentally friendly solution rather than a problem.

"What I am most interested in is those invasive species plants," Charles said. "Every country has invasive species and governments just spend millions every year trying to take them out and just burn them. But why don't we take those invasive species and then take the cellulose out of those species and use that for batteries?"

The company's battery components -- an anode, cathode, electrolyte and separator -- are all made with cellulose, along with food-safe minerals such as zinc and manganese. "With all these combined, we are able to build a chemistry that is completely water-based and safer for the world," Charles said.

Flint hopes its approach to battery making will catch on with other battery and electronic component producers. Creating these items using sustainable materials can significantly reduce the environmental impact of all our gadgets and gizmos. On a CES show floor filled wall-to-wall with lithium batteries, Flint shows one alternative that is finally coming to market.