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Contact lens-based tech to charge electric vehicles in minutes

If there’s one aspect that every owner of a battery-operated product worries about, it is range anxiety. With mobile phones, it is about getting you through a long day. With electric cars however, the fear is more real -- the prospect of running out of juice halfway down a highway or on a deserted country road. While Lithium Ion technology has served the purpose for decades now, it has been unable to completely alleviate the challenges. This may now change, thanks to a little-known company called SuperCapacitor Materials.

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If there’s one aspect that every owner of a battery-operated product worries about, it is range anxiety. With mobile phones, it is about getting you through a long day. With electric cars however, the fear is more real -- the prospect of running out of juice halfway down a highway or on a deserted country road. While Lithium Ion technology has served the purpose for decades now, it has been unable to completely alleviate the challenges. This may now change, thanks to a little-known company called SuperCapacitor Materials.

Scientists from the company have developed a special material composed of polymers, which could store electric charge far more efficiently than any material known today. Besides being several orders of magnitude (from 100 up to 10,000 times) more powerful than conventional cells, they also exhibit the unique ability to charge in just a couple of minutes: instead of waiting for hours, you could literally see the charge indicator rise to to the top after plugging in a device.

These new-generation polymers are aimed at replacing the chemical-based electrolytes used in today’s batteries. Microscopically, these gel-based polymers are composed of large molecules that are entwined in a cross-linked three-dimensional structure, which facilitate these high energy densities. The scientists working on the material are from the group’s parent company Augmented Optics Ltd along with the University of Surrey, Guildford and the University of Bristol.

Interestingly, the inspiration for this battery technology came from the most unexpected of quarters: soft contact lenses. In fact the director of research was one one of the members of the team that developed the polymers now used in soft contact lenses.

With this new approach, next-gen electric cars could be completely charged in about the time it takes to fill the tank of a gasoline-powered car, with capacities that arm these cars with comparable range. The technology could also find its way into several types of wearable and flexible electronics as these polymers are inherently pliable, making it possible for use in unconventionally-shaped product moulds and to power medical electronics.

 

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