Graphene-Based Supercapacitors

Default ARPA-E Project Image

Program:
OPEN 2012
Award:
$2,114,999
Location:
Atlanta, Georgia
Status:
ALUMNI
Project Term:
03/20/2013 - 03/19/2016
Website:

Critical Need:

Battery-related challenges are preventing the widespread use of hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and electric vehicles (EVs). HEVs and EVs are propelled by an electric motor that is powered by rechargeable battery packs. These battery packs have faced problems that prevent HEVs and EVs from being able to travel as far as gasoline-powered vehicles. Additionally, they also take a long time to recharge. There is a critical need to find more effective ways to power HEVs and EVs. Improvements in capacitors—electronic devices that help store electricity and move it from the battery pack to the electric motor—have the potential to significantly improve the performance of these vehicles.

Project Innovation + Advantages:

Georgia Tech Research Corporation is developing a supercapacitor using graphene—a two-dimensional sheet of carbon atoms—to substantially store more energy than current technologies. Supercapacitors store energy in a different manner than batteries, which enables them to charge and discharge much more rapidly. The Georgia Tech team approach is to improve the internal structure of graphene sheets with ‘molecular spacers,’ in order to store more energy at lower cost. The proposed design could increase the energy density of the supercapacitor by 10–15 times over established capacitor technologies, and would serve as a cost-effective and environmentally safe alternative to traditional storage methods.

Potential Impact:

If successful, Georgia Tech’s high-performance supercapacitor would enable quick charging and massive energy storage for HEVs, EVs and portable electronics.

Security:

Increased use of HEVs and EVs would decrease U.S. reliance on foreign sources of fossil fuels.

Environment:

Increased use of HEVs and EVs would decrease harmful greenhouse gas emissions from gasoline-based vehicles.

Economy:

Making it cheaper and easier to charge HEVs and EVs would save consumers time and money.

Contact

ARPA-E Program Director:
Dr. Eric Rohlfing
Project Contact:
Dr. Kyoung-sik (Jack) Moon
Press and General Inquiries Email:
ARPA-E-Comms@hq.doe.gov
Project Contact Email:
jack.moon@gatech.edu

Partners

Oak Ridge National Laboratory
nGimat

Related Projects

• Adaptive Surface Technologies - Slippery Coatings to Promote Energy Conversion
• Alveo Energy - Prussian Blue Dye Batteries
• Applied Materials - Low-Cost Silicon Wafers for Solar Modules
• Arizona State University (ASU) - Electrochemical Carbon Capture
• Bio2Electric - Electrogenerative Gas-to-Liquid Reactor
• Brown University - Customized Tidal Power Conversion Devices
• California Institute of Technology (Caltech) - Improving Solar Generation Efficiency with Solar Modules
• Case Western Reserve University - All-Iron Flow Battery
• Ceramatec - Mid-Temperature Fuel Cells for Vehicles
• Ceramatec - A One-Step, Gas-to-Liquid Chemical Converter
• Colorado State University (CSU) - More Options for Bioenergy Crops
• Cornell University - Efficient Photobioreactor for Algae-Based Fuel
• Dioxide Materials - Converting CO2 into Fuel and Chemicals
• Electron Energy Corporation (EEC) - New Processing Technology for Permanent Magnets
• eNova - Waste Heat-Powered Gas Compressor
• Evolva - High Performance Aviation Fuels from Terpenes
• Gas Technology Institute (GTI) - Efficient Natural Gas-to-Methanol Conversion
• General Electric (GE) Global Research - High-Power Gas Tube Switches
• General Electric (GE) Power & Water - Fabric-Based Wind Turbine Blades
• Georgia Tech Research Corporation - Power Generation Using Solar-Heated Ground Air
• Georgia Tech Research Corporation - High-Efficiency Solar Fuel Reactor
• Georgia Tech Research Corporation - Graphene-Based Supercapacitors
• Glint Photonics - Self-Tracking Concentrator Photovoltaics
• Grid Logic - High-Power Superconductors
• Harvard University - Organic Flow Battery for Energy Storage
• HexaTech - Semiconductors that Improve Electricity Flow
• Integral Consulting - Measuring Real-Time Wave Data with Ocean Wave Buoy
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) - Scalable, Low-Power Water Treatment System
• MicroLink Devices - High-Efficiency Solar Cells
• National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) - Efficient Plastic Solar Cells
• National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) - Solar Thermoelectric Generator
• Otherlab - Small Mirrors for Solar Power Tower Plants
• Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) - Real-Time Transmission Optimization
• Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) - Innovative Manufacturing Process for Li-Ion Batteries
• Plant Sensory Systems (PSS) - Better Biofuel Feedstock from Beets
• PolyPlus Battery Company - Low-Cost, High-Performance Lithium-Sulfur Batteries
• Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne (PWR) - Efficient Conversion of Natural Gas
• Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne (PWR) - Continuous Detonation Engine Combustors
• RamGoss - High-Performance Transistors
• Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) - High-Power Transistor Switch
• Research Triangle Institute (RTI) - Compact Inexpensive Reformers for Natural Gas
• Sharp Laboratories of America - Sodium-Based Energy Storage
• Silicon Power - Optical Switches for High-Power Systems
• Stanford University - Radiative Coolers for Rooftops and Cars
• Tai-Yang Research Company (TYRC) - High-Power, Low-Cost Superconducting Cable
• Teledyne Scientific & Imaging - High Energy Density Potassium-Based Flow Battery
• Texas Engineering Experiment Station (TEES) - Electricity from Low-Temperature Waste Heat
• United Technologies Research Center (UTRC) - Additive Manufacturing for Electric Vehicle Motors
• University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) - Measuring Phase Angle Change in Power Lines
• University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) - Rapid Building Energy Modeler - RAPMOD
• University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara) - Boosted Capacitors
• University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz) - Efficient Collection of Concentrated Solar
• University of Colorado, Boulder (CU-Boulder) - Small-Scale Reactors for Natural Gas Conversion
• University of Delaware (UD) - High-Storage Double-Membrane Flow Battery
• University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) - Power Grid Security
• University of Minnesota (UMN) - Ultra-Thin Membranes for Biofuels Production
• University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) - Fire-Resistant Solid Electrolytes
• University of North Dakota Energy & Environmental Research Center (UND-EERC) - Water-Efficient Power Generation
• University of Pittsburgh - CO2 Thickeners for Enhanced Oil and Gas Recovery
• University of Southern California (USC) - Inexpensive, Metal-free, Organic Flow Battery
• University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UT) - High Throughput Bioengineering of Switchgrass
• University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) - Smart Window Coatings
• University of Washington (UW) - Microbe-Based Methane to Diesel Conversion
• University of Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison) - Turning Sunlight, CO2, and Water into Fuel
• Vorbeck Materials - High-Performance, Low-Cost Lithium-Sulfur Batteries
• Yale University - Closed-Loop System Using Waste Heat for Electricity

Release Date:
11/28/2012