Development of a new generation of batteries and supercapacitors through the SUPERCAR project
The development of a new generation of batteries and supercapacitors, based on cheap and environmentally friendly nanotechnology of carbon obtained from biomass, is the goal of the project in which the Faculty of Metalurgy and Technology is a partner.
It is a three-year international project "Carbon-based Batteries and Supercapacitors - SUPERCAR, 2021-2024", which was approved within the NATO program "Science for Peace and Security".
The manager of this project, full prof. Veselinka Grudić, PhD, full professor and the Dean of the Faculty of Metalurgy and Technology, explains that the project will develop a set of new nanoporous carbon electrodes for the next generation of rechargeable batteries and supercapacitors (which do not contain lithium), relying on widely available elements such as sodium (Na), magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca) and aluminum (Al).
“State-of-the-art lithium-ion batteries and lithium-ion hybrid capacitors are good choices in terms of energy and power. However, their mass application (such as those in electric vehicles and electrical networks) is severely limited by the amount of lithium and the high cost. Awareness of the limited resources of lithium on Earth has initiated intensive research outside of lithium technology, where Na, Mg, Ca and Al, due to their large presence in nature, stand out as the most promising candidates. On the other hand, the disadvantage of graphite, which is primarily used as an anode for lithium-ion batteries, is the inability to store large amounts of multivalent ions during charging / discharging. This is one of the key obstacles to the development of alternative energy storage systems. The SUPERCAR project deals with these problems, with the basic idea of finding new, cheap and highly safe carbons, suitable for use in the next generation of lithium-free energy storage devices", explains Professor Grudić.
The role of electrochemical storage systems (ESS) in reducing fossil fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions is essential, thanks to their ability to store energy (from renewable sources) and deliver it to electric vehicles, she added.