“There is a global search for new energy storage technology and this ultra capacity supercapacitor has the potential to open the door to exciting developments,” celebrated Dr Brendan Howlin from the University of Surrey.
The technology was adapted from the principles used to make soft contact lenses, which was developed by Dr Donald Highgate of Augmented Optics.
Supercapacitors, an alternative power source to batteries, store energy using electrodes and electrolytes and both charge and deliver energy quickly, unlike conventional batteries which do so in a much slower, more sustained way. However, because of their poor energy density per kilogramme, they have, until now, been unable to compete with battery energy storage in many applications.
Dr Ian Hamerton, reader at the University of Bristol said: “While this research has potentially opened the route to high density supercapacitors, these polymers have other possible uses in which tough, flexible conducting materials are desirable, including bioelectronics, sensors, wearable electronics, and advanced optics.”
The technology could impact a number of industries, including transport, aerospace, energy generation, and household applications such as mobile phones, flat screen electronic devices, and biosensors.
Electric cars could potentially recharge as quickly as it takes for a regular non-electric car to refuel with petrol – a process that currently takes six to eight hours.