Researchers from Chalmers University of Technology, in collaboration with KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, have produced a structural battery that performs ten times better than all previous versions. It contains carbon fiber that serves simultaneously as an electrode, conductor, and load-bearing material. The new structural battery, which is described in an open-access paper in the journal Advanced Energy & Sustainability Research , features an energy density of 24 Wh kg −1 , an elastic modulus of 25 GPa, and tensile strength exceeding 300 MPa. The structural battery uses carbon fiber as a negative electrode, and a lithium iron phosphate-coated aluminum foil as the positive electrode. The carbon fiber acts as a host for the lithium and thus stores the energy. Since the carbon fiber also conducts electrons, the need for copper and silver conductors is also avoided—reducing the weight even further. Both the carbon fiber and the […]