Nanocarbons in batteries and supercapacitors

Electrical energy storage has been drawing a lot of attention in recent years. Many new applications ernerging that need to work independent of permanent power supply drive this phenomenon. One big field of activities is the internet of things, with portable electronics, sensors and actuators. Those are getting smaller, more sophisticated and are applied everywhere. Further, smart grids with additional renewable energy sources need big energy storage devices to match the fluctuating demand and supply. Also e-mobility seems to be an upcoming field that requires enhanced battery systems. However, batteries and supercapacitors improved a lot within the last decade, there are still a lot of limitations to overcome. The energy and power density needs to be increased as weil as costs needs to be decreased. Fraunhofer IPA is working on carbon electrodes for the next generation of energy storage solutions. Carbons are currently used in lithium-ion batteries as well as in supercapacitors. Those are mostly graphite, carbon black or activated carbon. In order to improve power and energy density, Nanocarbon materials, like Carbon Nanotubes or Graphene Nanoplatelets can play an important role. High specific surface area and electrical conductivity makes Nanocarbons an interesting material to increase power and energy density. The advantage is that electrodes can be tailored and integrated in electrochemical cells depending on the application. This talk gives an overview about the work with Nanocarbons in electrodes at Fraunhofer IPA.