A new material for body and housing construction that stores electrical energy could be used instead of batteries or to extend the range of, for example, electric cars.
Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology have developed a new material for the bodywork of electric cars that stores electrical energy. The supporting structure thus becomes the battery. According to the engineers, it is as stable as aluminum sheet, which is often used in the automotive industry.
Mobile phone as thin as a credit card
The researchers are convinced that if cars, airplanes, ships or computers are built from a material that functions as both a battery and a supporting structure, weight and energy consumption can be radically reduced. The experts’ new structural battery could halve the weight of a laptop, make a mobile phone as thin as a credit card or increase the range of an electric car on a single charge by up to 70 percent if the classic battery locations are also retained.
“We have succeeded in developing a battery made of carbon fiber composite material that is as stiff as aluminum and has such a high energy density that it can be used commercially,” says materials scientist Richa Chaudhary, who completed his doctorate under Leif Asp, Professor of Materials Science. Asp has been working on a technology for storing electrical energy in carbon fiber composite materials (CFRP) for more than six years. This special CFRP was first used as electrodes in lithium-ion batteries.
Energy density significantly increased
The team has now increased the energy density to 30 watt hours per kilogram. This corresponds to a quarter of the energy density of classic lithium-ion batteries. That may not sound great, but since this structural battery, which is also based on lithium, does not take up any additional space in electric cars, this can be seen as real progress – especially since the weight reduction reduces energy consumption, thus increasing the range.
Source: www.com-magazin.de
