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Researchers Tout Contact Lens Polymer for EV Supercapacitors
Researchers at the University of Surrey in England are developing a plastic based on soft contact-lens technology that could allow supercapacitors to be used in place of batteries to boost the performance of electric vehicles.
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Researchers at the University of Surrey in England are developing a plastic based on soft contact-lens technology that could allow supercapacitors to be used in place of batteries to boost the performance of electric vehicles.
The polymer could increase the energy density of supercapacitors by more than 1,000 times, thereby allowing EVs powered by them to travel as far as vehicles with traditional combustion engines, according to the developers/ They say recharging could be done in a few seconds.
Current supercapacitors have an energy density of just 5 watt-hours per kilogram, compared with 100 watt-hours for lithium-ion batteries.
The technology is being developed in conjunction with U.K.-based Augmented Optics Ltd. and SuperCapacitor Materials Ltd. Donald Highgate, who helped commercialize soft contact lens technology in the 1970s, is a director at Augmented Optics.
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