Supercapacitors

This coming November 14-15 at the Santa Clara Convention Center, leading players in the battery and energy storage industry will compete to capture the audience's attention over what technology is set to dominate in the coming decade.

IDTechEx attended Imperial College's Composites Centre showcase event on 24th September 2018, which saw the centre open it's doors to a range of commercial, research and government organisations.

The new IDTechEx report, "Airborne Wind Energy 2019-2039" comes just as new generation, zero emission electricity production approaches a tipping point. The new generation addresses the new world of distributed power for minigrids and microgrids and replacement of diesel gensets, so it is mobile with no infrastructure. Installation in one hundredth of the time and making electricity where it is needed without power lines across the horizon: what is there not to like?

The key next iteration for fiber reinforced polymer products will be the concept of multifunctionality. This is the idea of making a structural part carry out additional role(s) beyond their current primary mechanical task - the market for smart composite material is forecast to exceed 5 kilotons by 2029.

AWE should be seen as part of a bigger picture. The next generation of zero emission electricity producing technologies has no huge steel and concrete infrastructure, so it can have much less cost and installation time and making it redeployable.

IDTechEx will be hosting a free webinar on Thursday 6 September titled Energy Harvesting Microwatt to Megawatt: New Objectives, New Solutions.

IDTechEx will be hosting a free webinar on Thursday 23 August titled New Supercapacitor Materials Enable Huge New Markets.

The lead acid battery industry repeats a mantra that almost all of them are recycled and they are by far the lowest cost solution for cars and much else besides. Many forces now question and begin to change this.

Cleantech Hub reports that a mere 13% of lead acid batteries are recycled in Nigeria. Yet there is a mini-grid revolution about to take off in Nigeria, such as the World Bank and the Rural Electrification Agency $350 million project as well as other investments into the sector, driving more batteries.

The cost of renewable energies such as tidal and wave power in the open sea, wind and solar power have come down greatly in recent years but they are rarely considered viable for base power, largely because of the energy storage needed.