The ‘world’s strongest battery’ could pave the way for electric planes

The properties of the structural battery mean it could be used in a wide variety of different situations, according to the researchers.

This strong, lightweight battery tech made from carbon fibre could be the answer to electrifying air travel.
Researchers from Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden say the material it is made from is sturdy enough to serve as a load-bearing structure. It is being billed as the “world’s strongest battery” and they claim it could be integrated into the design of a vehicle to reduce weight and increase range.
“We have succeeded in creating a battery made of carbon fibre composite that is as stiff as aluminium and energy-dense enough to be used commercially,” says Chalmers scientist Richa Chaudhary, one of the authors of the paper recently published in the journal Advanced Materials.
“Just like a human skeleton, the battery has several functions at the same time.”
The properties of the structural battery mean it could be used in a wide variety of different situations, according to the researchers.
This includes “credit card-thin” mobile phones or laptops half the weight they are today, Professor Leif Asp, lead researcher from Chalmers University of Technology. But, he adds, the team has also noticed a great deal of interest from the automotive and aerospace industries.
One of the biggest challenges in electric aviation is balancing the energy density of a battery power source. Battery energy on average is more than 40 times heavier than jet fuel. These batteries also need to be packed into relatively small spaces.
A lightweight structural battery that can provide enough energy could be built into the object it is powering, solving many of these issues. But critics say this makes batteries incredibly difficult to replace later down the line as they are integral to the construction.
The team at Chalmers University of Technology claim they could also reduce the amount of energy required to run an electric car.
“We have made calculations on electric cars that show that they could drive for up to 70 per cent longer than today if they had competitive structural batteries,” Asp says.
“It could also be that components such as electronics in cars or planes are powered by structural batteries. It will require large investments to meet the transport industry’s challenging energy needs, but this is also where the technology could make the most difference.”
The team at Chalmers University has been researching the possibility of structural batteries for a number of years. When Asp and colleagues shared their first piece of research in 2018 it attracted a lot of attention.
They made their first breakthrough in 2021 with a battery that had an energy density of 24 watt-hours per kilogram – around 20 per cent of the capacity of a comparable lithium-ion battery.
The latest version is up to 30 watt-hours per kilogram and, while this doesn’t quite reach the same standards as most batteries, there are some advantages.
“In terms of multifunctional properties, the new battery is twice as good as its predecessor – and actually the best ever made in the world,” Asp claims.