Imperial College London will lead a collaboration between industrial and academics partners to develop functional materials from biowaste products. Most materials currently used in industry are either imported, such as critical metals like lithium and nickel, or produced using unsustainable components or processes. At the same time, combined food, forestry and agricultural waste is estimated to reach approximately 26.5 million tonnes per year and holds little economic value.
10th June 2021 11:02 am 10th June 2021 11:02 am
Scientists from Imperial College London and University College London (UCL) have used lignin to create a new generation of low-cost, high-energy supercapacitors to power electric vehicles.
Image by Paul Brennan from Pixabay
The cheaper, more sustainable and energy-dense electrode material could pave the way for wider market penetration of this high-power, quick charging electric vehicle technology.
In the study, published in
Advanced Science, teams at Imperial College London and used lignin – a bio-based by-product of the paper industry – to create free-standing electrodes with enhanced energy storage capacity.
The researchers believe this could be a game-changer for existing supercapacitor technology and emphasise the importance of reducing the production cost of carbon-based electrodes and the reliance on critical materials if free-standing supercapacitors are to play a major role in decarbonising transport alon