Next-Gen Battery Technology To Improve EVs

Imagine a battery built into your car’s frame, storing energy while making it lighter and safer. Discover more!

Embedding battery storage into the structure of buildings and vehicles offers significant potential. However, researchers face two major challenges: achieving high energy density and ensuring strong load-bearing capacity. Scientists at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) are addressing these challenges. They have developed thin carbon-fibre composite batteries capable of storing substantial energy while withstanding heavy loads.

The researchers proposed a framework for designing solid polymer electrolytes, a key material for high-stiffness, ultra-thin structural batteries, from both material and structural perspectives. These material-based structural batteries have the potential to serve as internal components in cars, drones, aeroplanes, and robots, greatly extending their operating time on a single charge.

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Batteries work by moving ions between two electrodes through an electrolyte. Researchers worldwide are exploring the most efficient and cost-effective materials for compact, lightweight designs. Their studies include materials like potassium, salt, and even cow hair.

In the KAIST invention, carbon fibres function as both the anode and cathode. The researchers claim they have improved the connection between the electrodes and the electrolyte, enhancing performance.

Additionally, integrating battery packs into an electric vehicle’s structure can reduce weight, lower costs, and improve fire safety. Innovative battery designs are essential as we shift to a renewable, electric-based transportation and energy system. By harnessing energy from sources like the sun, wind, and waves instead of fossil fuels, we can cut emissions contributing to global warming and its impacts, including severe weather and heat waves threatening our food systems.

At KAIST, ongoing research could enhance the use of structural batteries in EVs. A rendering from the team shows carbon fibre batteries integrated into a car roof, demonstrating their potential applications.