‘Breakthrough’ for energy storage launched

Above: The Faraday 1 storage module (courtesy of Superdielectrics)

Superdielectrics’ energy storage technology combines electric field physics and conventional chemical storage chemistry to create a new aqueous polymer-based energy storage technology.

The company formally launched ‘Faraday 1’ hybrid energy storage on 6 March. The technology behind it has completed over one million hours of testing to create a system that is said to have the ability to significantly outperform lead-acid batteries and has the potential, with further development, to match or perform better than existing Lithium-ion batteries.

The energy storage market is currently dominated by lithium-ion and lead-acid batteries. The new and patented polymer-based technology is claimed to store rapidly fluctuating solar and wind energy more economically than conventional systems.

According to Superdielectrics the aqueous polymer-based technology produces a highly efficient store of energy that charges over 10 times faster than lead-acid batteries with high cycle life; it is safe storage there is negligible fire risk; it is low cost using readily available abundant raw materials, and it is recyclable, with a recycling rate believed to touch 93%. Its maker sees a huge opportunity in the $50 bn/year lead-acid battery market for vehicle charging and grid-balancing services.

Professor David Germin, head of the Bristol Electrochemistry and Solar Team, worked with a team of Bristol engineers, examining the performance of prototype devices and unravelling the mechanisms involved in the storage and release of energy. He said: “It is a privilege to be part of the most exciting technology in the energy sector that I have seen involving our organisation. “These state-of-the-art supercapacitors have the potential of becoming a game changer in energy storage. Superdielectrics’ devices are not only highly competitive against matured technologies in terms energy and power density, but are also free of critical elements, using earth abundant materials with lower environmental impact than other energy storage technologies.”