Title : Breaking the energy-power trade-off for next-generation energy storage
Abstract:
Conventional energy storage architectures force a fundamental compromise: batteries deliver high energy density but are limited in power output and cycle life, while supercapacitors offer rapid charge-discharge and exceptional durability but fall short on energy density. For next generation applications — from grid buffering and EV fast-charging to wearable electronics and remote sensing — neither endpoint of this trade-off is adequate on its own. Bridging the gap demands a rethinking of device architecture, electrode materials, and electrolyte design simultaneously.
This talk presents a materials and device-level strategy for overcoming the energy-power trade-off through aqueous asymmetric hybrid supercapacitor technology. At the core of this approach is a fabric-based device architecture in which a faradaic positive electrode and a double-layer negative electrode are paired in an aqueous electrolyte system, enabling simultaneous exploitation of pseudocapacitive charge storage and high-rate electrostatic mechanisms. The electrode materials — including transition metal oxide composites and functionalised carbon frameworks — are engineered to maximise accessible surface area, ionic diffusion pathways, and redox-active site density.
The talk situates this work within the broader challenge of energy system integration — specifically, the need for a storage layer that can absorb intermittent renewable inputs and deliver them at demand-matched rates without degradation. The fabric-based form factor opens deployment pathways in building-integrated energy systems and distributed microgrids that are inaccessible to rigid cell formats. Collaborative development with industrial partners and the current device status at TRL 4 are outlined, along with the roadmap toward prototype validation and scale-up under ongoing deep-tech startup activities.
