High-capacity, Soft Batteries From Trees

Dean Sigler Electric Powerplants, Sustainable Aviation Leave a Comment

This is not pulp fiction, but pulp fact, trees being converted into squishy new nerf-like batteries. Researchers at Sweden’s KTH Royal Institute of Technology and Stanford University have made elastic, high-capacity batteries from wood pulp.  The foam-like battery material can withstand shock and stress, according to the schools.  Max Hamedi, a researcher at KTH and Harvard University, says, “It is possible to make incredible materials from trees and cellulose.” The wood-based aerogel material can be used for three-dimensional structures, important for overcoming certain restrictions imposed by two-dimensional approaches.  Hamedi explains, “There are limits to how thin a battery can be, but that becomes less relevant in 3D.  We are no longer restricted to two dimensions. We can build in three dimensions, enabling us to fit more electronics in a smaller space.” Moving past former obstacle of using three-dimensional, porous materials in crafting electrodes, researchers managed to make this a non-problem.  Hamedi adds, “In fact, this type of structure and material …