The constant counter-argument to the proliferation of electric and hybrid-electric vehicles has been the size and weight of the battery packs, the inadequate energy density of the available batteries, and the toxic ingredients and expensive manufacturing processes that go into making those batteries.
But what if we had high-energy batteries that used no toxic electrolytes and could be printed like the pages of a book?
Well, that's just what researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute announced today.
Prepare to get enthused...
Well, bless my buckminsterfullerenes!
In the paper "Flexible Energy Storage Devices Based on Nanocomposite Paper" published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, co-author Robert Linhardt describes a battery made 90% of paper cellulose, permeated with carbon nanotubes, that uses a non-toxic "ionic liquid" (a liquid salt) as the electrolyte, but it is flexible as to what it can use. Researchers have even projected that one of these batteries could be implanted inside a human body to run a pacemaker, and use the salts in bodily fluids as the electrolye!
But when it comes to transportation, the piece de resistance is these batteries' ability to act as both a traditional battery and as a capacitor, providing for a quicker release of large amounts of energy when needed, as for quick acceleration.
Best of all, they promise to be simple to produce.
Quoting co-author Saravanababu Murugesan Pulickel M. Ajayan:
When we get this technology down, we’ll basically have the ability to print batteries and print supercapacitors," Ajayan said. "We see this as a technology that’s just right for the current energy market, as well as the electronics industry, which is always looking for smaller, lighter power sources. Our device could make its way into any number of different applications.