Energy Storing Structural Body Panels for EVs

As the global appetite for clean energy is growing like never before, energy storage devices like hybrid supercapacitors are attracting considerable attention. As electric vehicles (EVs) are becoming more and more popular, they face many challenges, including limited charge capacity and long charging times. This presentation discusses how we addressed some of these challenges by developing an electrified carbon fiber reinforced polymer (e-CFRP) composite that stores electrical energy and function as a load-bearing structural component to make EV’s body panel. The carbon fiber mat electrode is developed by vertically attaching graphene sheets on carbon fibers. A high-strength multilayer e-CFRP composite is fabricated using an alternate layer patterning configuration of epoxy and gel electrolyte. The e-CFRP so developed delivered an areal energy density of > 0.31 mWh cm^-2 at 0.3mm thickness and a high tensile strength of 518 MPa and a bending strength of 477 MPa. The e-CFRP panel is used to run a toy car to demonstrate its potential application in EVs. The energy harvested by an integrated solar cell is stored in the e-CFRP and used to power an IoT device to demonstrate its application in communication satellites.