Monday, April 4, 2016

Nanotechnology in Automotive industry ll : Supercapacitor Panel

QUT sees cars powered by their body panels a reality within five years (Photo: Shutterstock)



Electric car industry is one of the fields that are being developed most rapidly and getting attention among people. These days, companies are trying to get rid of unnecessary weight in electric cars to compensate weight of the battery in the car, which is extremely big and heavy. What if the future electric cars could have batteries integrated in their body panels and chassis? The article about supercapacitor panel briefly shows how this idea could work thanks to nanomaterials made of thin and strong carbon fiber.


According to the article, the supercapacitors that are made of electrolyte and two carbon electrodes can cut the weight of electric cars, give better acceleration and charging time. These phenomenal improvements are possible due to supercapacitor's high power density and ability to become body panels of the car.



This article gave me an inspiration about another improvement in electric car using nanotechnology; what if car body panel could be a sandwich of supercapacitor and self-charging layer that works similar to plants' photosynthesis? I think there is definitely a potential for this using biomimicry and nanotechnology.

Reference articles :
"Graphene-Based Supercapacitors Could Lead To Battery-Free Electric Cars Within 5 Years." IFLScience. N.p., 12 Nov. 2014. Web. 20 Apr. 2016. <http://www.iflscience.com/technology/graphene-based-supercapacitors-could-eliminate-batteries-electric-cars-within-5-years>.
Person, and David Szondy. "New Tech Could Allow Electric Cars' Body Panels to Store Energy." New Tech Could Allow Electric Cars' Body Panels to Store Energy. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2016. <http://www.gizmag.com/electric-car-panels-energy-storage/34676/>.
"Breakthrough for Electric Cars: Supercapacitors from Miracle Substance Graphene Charges Batteries in 4 Minutes." International Business Times RSS. N.p., 25 May 2015. Web. 20 Apr. 2016. <http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/breakthrough-electric-cars-supercapacitors-miracle-substance-graphene-charges-batteries-4-1502834>.
"Supercapacitor Panel-powered Electric Vehicles within 5 Years Could Become Affordable." Supercapacitor Panel-powered Electric Vehicles within 5 Years Could Become Affordable. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2016. <http://evbud.com/news/373/>.


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