Conductive polymers Most polymers are insulators, which is a good thing, because they are often used to insulate electrical wires. But in the late 1970s it was discovered that polymers can also conduct electricity. Conductive polymers are promising because they are much lighter than metals and can potentially be used to make lightweight batteries for electric cars, for example. Conductive polymers also have potential use in electronics and solar collectors. In 2000 Alan J. Heeger (1936– ), Alan MacDiarmid (1927– ), and Hideki Shirakawa (1936– ) shared the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their discovery and development of conductive polymers.