A cathode precursor to a metal fluoride cathode for an aluminum battery, said cathode precursor comprising a conductive scaffold with pores having at least one dimension below about one micrometer, a precursor material contained in said pores, wherein said precursor material comprises one or more metals, in non-fluorinated form, selected from the group consisting of Fe, Co, Cu, Ni, Mo, and Sn, and a fluorinating agent contained in said pores, wherein said fluorinating agent is capable of fluorinating said precursor material.