Researchers produce a vastly improved structural battery

Researchers from Chalmers University of Technology have produced a structural battery they claim is ten times better than all previous versions. The structural battery contains carbon fiber that acts as the electrode, conductor and load-bearing material simultaneously. Scientists say the research breakthrough paves the way for what they call "massless" energy storage in vehicles and other technology.

The challenge with electrifying vehicles such as cars and airplanes today is that batteries constitute a significant part of the vehicle's weight. Despite the significant weight of the batteries, they don't fulfill any load-bearing functionality. A structural battery works as both a power source and part of the structure of the vehicle. For example, the structural battery can be the body of the car or the fuselage of an aircraft.

Structural batteries are described as "massless" energy storage because the battery's weight vanishes when it can be part of the load-bearing structure. According to calculations, researchers believe a structural battery could significantly reduce the weight of an electric vehicle. Researchers say in addition to being stiff and strong, these batteries have an excellent ability to store energy chemically.

Scientists have been working on structural batteries as far back as 2007, but have been unable to manufacture batteries with good electrical and mechanical properties. The breakthrough is a significant step forward, with the team presenting a structural battery with properties that far exceed anything previously seen in terms of storage capacity, stiffness, and strength. Its multifunctional performance is ten times higher than previous structural battery prototypes.

The battery the team came up with has an energy density of 24 Wh/kg, giving it approximately 20 percent of the capacity compared to lithium-ion batteries available today. However, since the battery is a structural component, it reduces weight, which should equate to longer driving distances for electric vehicles.