How chemists turned bourbon waste into supercapacitors

Hydrothermal carbonization can directly convert sloppy stillage into hard or activated carbon.

Ars Technica
Low Self-Discharge, High-Voltage Supercapacitors Using Porous Carbon

Supercapacitors rely mostly on double-layer capacitance to bridge the divide between chemical batteries and traditional capacitors, but they come with a number of weaknesses. Paramount among these …

Hackaday
MIT's concrete battery just got 10 times more powerful

Scientists have been working for the last few years on enhancing concrete – arguably the most common construction material on the planet – to store energy. That includes researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), who found a way to combine cement, water, and carbon black to create…

New Atlas
Living cement: Scientists turn bacteria-infused cement into energy-storing supercapacitors

Imagine a house that doesn't just shelter you but also stores electricity. It may sound like science fiction, but it's now closer to reality than ever before. A research team at Aarhus University has demonstrated how the world's most widely used building material can be transformed into a living energy device. By embedding energy-producing bacteria in cement, they have created a biohybrid supercapacitor with surprisingly high performance and a remarkable ability to regenerate itself over time.

Tech Xplore
Living microbial cement supercapacitors with reactivatable energy storage

Luo et al. develop a “living” microbial cement supercapacitor by embedding electroactive microorganisms into cement matrices. This biohybrid system enables charge storage, remains functional even after microbial inactivation, and can be reactivated via nutrient delivery.

Cell Reports Physical Science

M-rGo #supercapacitors #energyStorage

-- Volumetric energy densities of up to 99.5 Wh/L (in ionic liquid electrolytes)

-- Power densities as high as 69.2 kW/L

--Rapid charging capabilities with excellent cycle stability.

"Supercapacitors are an emerging class of energy storage devices that store charge electrostatically, rather than through chemical reactions like batteries. Until now, a major barrier has been that only a small fraction of the carbon material’s surface area – essential for storing energy – was accessible for use."

"a new material architecture... called multiscale reduced graphene oxide (M-rGO)... is synthesised from natural graphite"

Which is not a rare resource.

https://www.monash.edu/news/articles/lightning-fast-power-breakthrough-powers-supercapacitors-that-rival-batteries

Australian engineers hail new supercapacitor tech that may store enough energy to replace batteries

Monash researchers say breakthrough in super capacitor tech means they could store enough energy to…

RenewEconomy

A dandy bring-up-to-speed on #supercapacitors, a trove of info and leads to more in one convenient location.

These devices are well suited to dealing with reactive loads for grid modernization thanks to their durability and ability to responsively deliver high power while retaining reasonably small physical and resource footprints. .

"Electrochemical capacitors are known for their fast charging and superior energy storage capabilities and have emerged as a key energy storage solution for efficient and sustainable power management. This article comprehensively explores the fundamental principles, architectural advancements, and material innovations underpinning supercapacitor technology. It covers the evolution of supercapacitor performance, the comparison of pseudocapacitors, double-layer capacitors, electrolytes, and the integration of innovative nanostructured materials, such as carbon nanotubes, transition metal oxides, MXene, and graphene, and it investigates the hybrid systems that bridge the gap between capacitors and batteries. The article also discusses the future perspectives of supercapacitor technology."

Oops! The link:

https://advanced.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/aesr.202400412?af=R

Will Supercapacitors Come to AI’s Rescue?

<p>Power bursts in large AI workloads can threaten to overwhelm the grid</p>

IEEE Spectrum