Sandwich structures are common in aircraft, combining high stiffness, light weight, and structural strength. Could such a structure be useful in enhancing energy storage? Pennsylvania State University researchers think they’ve answered that question in a positive way. Sandwich-like Structures as Energy Storage Materials The blog has examined the possibilities inherent in incorporating batteries and supercapacitors into structures, but making the battery itself a sandwich structure could leave it as a discrete component within an electric vehicle, or lead to its being adapted as a full structural element. Penn State University materials scientists have achieved the goal of making a “polymer dielectric material with high energy density, high power density and excellent charge-discharge efficiency for electric and hybrid vehicle use.” Their battery resembles the sandwich construction of modern aircraft shells ranging from ultralight sailplanes to 787 Dreamliners. The “sandwich-like structure that protects the dense electric field in the polymer/ceramic composite from dielectric breakdown,” according to researchers. Rather than relying on the …
I’ll Take Manhattan
While much of battery research goes into crafting the ultimate anode, cathode or electrolyte, there seem to be few efforts, at least to outside observers, of integrated approaches to making a better total battery. That may change soon, with the Department of Energy announcing formation of a new Joint Center for Energy Storage Research (J-CESR, or J-Caesar). Dr. Steven Chu, U. S. Secretary of Energy, has established the Center at Argonne National Laboratory with a budget of $120 million over five years to create a battery five times more powerful and five times cheaper than today’s norms – all within five years. For those of us who’ve grown wary of those “breakthough” announcements that almost always include the line, “researchers say the new product could become a commercial reality in the next five to 20 years,” this may seem too hopeful. Secretary Chu’s announcement included several factors that may alleviate this wariness. The Department is putting up the money, …