Battery breakthrough could see electric planes finally take off

World’s strongest battery could also make phones as thin as a credit card

Electric planes have struggled to take off due to battery limitations, with weight proving a significant barrier for commercial passenger planes (Eviation)

Scientists have invented an ultra-strong and lightweight battery made from carbon fibre that they claim is energy-dense enough to power electric planes.

Billed as the world’s strongest battery, a team from Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden said the material is sturdy enough to serve as a load-bearing structure, meaning it can be integrated into the design of a vehicle in order to radically reduce weight and increase range.

“We have succeeded in creating a battery made of carbon fibre composite that is as stiff as aluminium and energy-dense enough to be used commercially,” said Richa Chaudhary, a Chalmers scientist who led the research.

“Just like a human skeleton, the battery has several functions at the same time.”

The new battery design could be used in a wide range of applications, capable of halving the weight of a laptop or making a mobile phone as thin as a credit card. The researchers also claim that it could increase the range of an electric car by 70 per cent.

The battery is made of a carbon fibre composite, which is strong, light and energy-dense enough to be used commercially (Chalmers University of Technology/ Henrik Sandsjö)

Using carbon fibres to build batteries was first attempted in 2018, however the energy density was not enough to be used within commercial applications. The latest battery design has an energy density of 30 Wh/kg, which is roughly a quarter the capacity of a comparable lithium-ion battery, however the ability to construct the vehicle with the battery means it takes up far less space and weight.

“In terms of multifunctional properties, the new battery is twice as good as its predecessor – and actually the best ever made in the world,” said Professor Leif Asp from Chalmers University of Technology, who noted that there has already been interest from the automotive and aerospace industries.

“One can imagine that credit card-thin mobile phones or laptops that weigh half as much as today, are the closest in time. It could also be that components such as electronics in cars or planes are powered by structural batteries.

“It will require large investments to meet the transport industry’s challenging energy needs, but this is also where the technology could make the most difference.”

The research into so-called massless energy storage was detailed in a study, titled ‘Unveiling the multifunctional carbon fibre structural battery’, which was published in the journal Advanced Materials on Tuesday.