Could micro supercapacitors “revolutionise” battery technology?

Researchers from Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden have developed a production method for micro supercapacitors that could revolutionise their role in battery technology, providing longer lifespans and extremely fast charging.

According to Chalmers University, supercapacitors consist of two electrical conductors separated by an insulating layer and have long been considered a possible alternative to traditional battery energy storage technology.

This is due to their ability to allow for much more rapid charging, more efficient energy distribution, and a much greater lifespan without loss of performance.

Moreover, more than acting as a potential replacement for batteries, supercapacitors can be combined with traditional battery technology to increase battery life by as much as four times in uses such as electric vehicles.

However, despite a number of potential benefits, the current costs of supercapacitors make them prohibitively expensive for use in most consumer products – even though the long-term cost may lean in favour of the supercapacitor.

The size of today’s supercapacitors is too large for application where they could be useful, making them incompatible with mobile phones or electric vehicles. Much of the ongoing research into supercapacitors is therefore focused on miniaturisation.

A group of researchers from Chalmers University have been working on developing “micro” supercapacitors, which would be small enough to fit onto the system circuits (system-on-a-chip) which control various functions in mobile phones, computers, electric motors, and really most consumer electronics in use today.

But even such a technological breakthrough must be made in such a way as to be compatible with modern manufacturing techniques and compatible with other components in a system circuit, while also able to be easily tailored for different areas of use.

That’s why the work of researchers from Chalmers University represents such a potential step change, as they believe they have developed a production method that they believe represents a breakthrough for how supercapacitors can be produced.

​“When discussing new technologies, it is easy to forget how important the manufacturing method is, so that they can actually be commercially produced and be impactful in society,” said Agin Vyas, doctoral student at the Department of Microtechnology and Nanoscience at Chalmers University of Technology and lead author of an article published in the journal Physica Status Solidi B.

“Here, we have developed methods that can really work in production.”

“It would of course be very convenient to be able to quickly charge, for example, an electric car or not have to change or charge batteries as often as we currently do in our smartphones.

“But it would also represent a great environmental benefit and be much more sustainable, if batteries had a longer lifespan and did not need to be recycled in complicated processes.”

The researchers have also developed a method for producing micro supercapacitors of up to ten different materials in one unified manufacturing process, meaning that the properties of the supercapacitors can be easily tailored to suit a variety of end uses.

“We used a method known as spin coating, a cornerstone technique in many manufacturing processes. This allows us to choose different electrode materials. We also use alkylamine chains in reduced graphene oxide, to show how that leads to a higher charging and storage capacity,” Agin Vyas continued.

“Our method is scalable and would involve reduced costs for the manufacturing process. It represents a great step forward in production technology and an important step towards the practical application of micro-supercapacitors in both everyday electronics and industrial applications.”