Elemental Layering as a Pre-Metallicity Energy Storage Mechanism in the Interstellar Medium: Toward a Galactic Battery Framework

We propose that ionization-driven stratification in hydrogen–helium plasmas can act as a persistentsource of electromotive forcing (EMF) in the interstellar medium (ISM). The mechanism does notrequire heavy elements: H/He ionization gradients and recurrent interface formation can sustainlocalized electric fields and currents that convert radiative and kinetic inputs into field energyand particle energization. We do not assume macroscopic net charge separation over ISM scales;rather, we model a cycle of interface-driven field generation and relaxation whose net effect isan operational energy “battery.” We outline order-of-magnitude constraints, identify controllingtimescales, and propose observational signatures linking stratification strength to polarization andFaraday-rotation structure and to H/He line diagnostics.