The result is a battery that can be sprayed on to plastics, metal and ceramics.

In an experiment, Singh's team airbrushed a battery on to nine ceramic bathroom tiles. Each tile represented one battery cell and they were charged with a small solar cell. Connected in parallel, the battery was able to power for six hours a set of LEDs (light-emitting diodes) that spelled out the word "RICE."

With patents filed on the process, the team is now looking to further refine the process.

"The present work is just a concept of paintable batteries," said Singh. "We chose the materials to match those being used in lithium ion batteries, but we are talking about non-experts making them at home with safer materials."

They are also hoping to attract interest from electronics companies, which Singh estimates could put it into production relatively easily.