Beyond structural; multifunctional composites that store electrical energy
Lead Research Organisation:
Imperial College London
Department Name: Aeronautics
Abstract
Smart structures, in which monofunctional devices (e.g. sensors, actuators or batteries) and structural materials are sandwiched together, can provide elegant technical solutions to engineering problems. However, they offer limited space and weight savings: ultimately their efficiency is controlled by the interfaces between the device and the surrounding structure. A radically different concept is one in which the constituents (i.e. fibres and matrices) of the structural material themselves are multifunctional, acting in synergy to give truly multifunctional materials which inherently perform two (or more) functions simultaneously. This proposal focuses on structural supercapacitors, in which the material provides two disparate functions: mechanical load bearing and electrical energy storage. Such devices offer important performance advantages in minimising system weight and volume, and present opportunities for innovative design. It is notable that there are several synergies between energy storage devices and polymer composites: the laminated architecture of such materials mirrors the electrode configuration in supercapacitors. Furthermore, both devices use carbon based reinforcements/electrodes infused with a polymeric matrix/electrolyte. Such parallels provide a strong motivation for wedding these two disparate fields to develop structural power materials.
Supercapacitors consist of two high surface area electrodes, an electrolyte and a separator: charge is collected reversibly at the electrolyte/electrode interfaces. Their performance makes them useful as high power sources and, when used in conjunction with batteries, life extension for power sources for electric vehicles. For structural supercapacitors, there are two multifunctional components: a structural reinforcement/electrode, and a structural separator/electrolyte. Through our research in this field we have identified three critical challenges for structural supercapacitors: we will address these in this proposal. We will significantly improve how much electrical energy these devices can store (i.e. energy density), how quickly they can be charged or discharged (i.e. power density) and their mechanical performance. To improve energy density, we will develop reinforcements/electrodes with increased surface areas and electrochemical activity. In parallel, we will formulate matrices/electrolytes which are stiff and robust, thus giving enhanced mechanical performance, but with greater ionic conductivity, and hence power densities. In bringing the best constituents together to form multifunctional composites, we will exploit both existing architectures, developed in our previous work, and develop new ones. The project will culminate in demonstration of the best devices through fabrication and testing of industry inspired components.
Once mature, this class of multifunctional structural energy storage materials will have a huge impact on applications such as aerospace, automotive and portable electronics. For instance, imagine future tablet computers with no batteries, in which the electrical energy is stored in the casing material. Consider electric cars, in which the bonnet, doors and roof store all the energy to power the vehicle. Meeting such ambitions will have a profound effect on future engineering structures and will inspire others to work in this exciting field.
Supercapacitors consist of two high surface area electrodes, an electrolyte and a separator: charge is collected reversibly at the electrolyte/electrode interfaces. Their performance makes them useful as high power sources and, when used in conjunction with batteries, life extension for power sources for electric vehicles. For structural supercapacitors, there are two multifunctional components: a structural reinforcement/electrode, and a structural separator/electrolyte. Through our research in this field we have identified three critical challenges for structural supercapacitors: we will address these in this proposal. We will significantly improve how much electrical energy these devices can store (i.e. energy density), how quickly they can be charged or discharged (i.e. power density) and their mechanical performance. To improve energy density, we will develop reinforcements/electrodes with increased surface areas and electrochemical activity. In parallel, we will formulate matrices/electrolytes which are stiff and robust, thus giving enhanced mechanical performance, but with greater ionic conductivity, and hence power densities. In bringing the best constituents together to form multifunctional composites, we will exploit both existing architectures, developed in our previous work, and develop new ones. The project will culminate in demonstration of the best devices through fabrication and testing of industry inspired components.
Once mature, this class of multifunctional structural energy storage materials will have a huge impact on applications such as aerospace, automotive and portable electronics. For instance, imagine future tablet computers with no batteries, in which the electrical energy is stored in the casing material. Consider electric cars, in which the bonnet, doors and roof store all the energy to power the vehicle. Meeting such ambitions will have a profound effect on future engineering structures and will inspire others to work in this exciting field.
Planned Impact
The breadth of potential applications and the simplicity of the concept of structural power has drawn considerable interest from academia, industry and the public to our work. However, it is apparent that there is a need for practical demonstrators with defined performance parameters before industry can consider adopting this technology for their own products. Although structural power straddles two critical technologies (polymer composites and energy storage), the developments to date have been driven by the Composites Sector, which is currently undergoing phenomenal growth, compelled by widespread adoption in sectors such as Automotive. However, additional opportunities for this novel technology have emerged, such as the aspiration of Airbus to have a fully electric powered passenger aircraft by 2050: this ambition will be underpinned by both lightweighting and energy storage solutions. Structural power goes well beyond Transportation: for example, we foresee that these materials will be exploited in areas such as mobile electronics and portable tools.
To maximise the impact, we have drawn together material suppliers, research institutes and end-users who will form the industrial advisory board (IAB). Throughout the project they will attend six-monthly meetings to monitor and guide the direction of the research. Most importantly, towards the culmination of the project they will inspire our demonstrator selection by identifying applications for early adoption of this technology. To further dissemination we will publish in the highest quality in high impact journals, which will solidify UK's leading position in structural power materials. This dissemination will be further supported by presentation at international composite, materials (chemistry) and electrochemistry conferences, participation at which also provides excellent networking opportunities. Events such JEC will provide focused industrial exposure.
We have strong links with the leading Groups in structural power, such as in the US, Sweden and Korea. In addition, we will exploit the burgeoning interest in structural power to provide opportunities to collaborate with the sixty or so companies who have approached us about this technology. Organisations such as the Energy Futures Lab at Imperial College and Durham Energy Institute will have opportunities to promote the research, facilitate collaborations and exploit the technology. The IAB will also provide a mechanism for initiating collaboration and development of these materials beyond the life of the project. Regarding outreach to the general public, our track record is excellent, with the PI having received huge attention with newspaper articles worldwide. This mechanism proved to be one of the most effective to attract potential industrial collaborators. We will build on this experience to produce a website, including highly effective press releases accompanied by video-clips on Youtube, and present at events such as Imperial Festival. At the culmination of the project we will develop the model of a previous successful industrial engagement day held at NCC on ductile composites. Finally, we will train four highly skilled researchers in multifunctional material synthesis, characterisation and utilisation, with their work having been directly exposed to industry via the IAB. These interdisciplinary experts will be potential champions for technology transfer activities or other developments of the technology.
In summary, this proposal on structural power is a timely opportunity to make a significant impact in delivering new technologies and training engineers to address such future societal challenges associated with energy storage and lightweighting.
To maximise the impact, we have drawn together material suppliers, research institutes and end-users who will form the industrial advisory board (IAB). Throughout the project they will attend six-monthly meetings to monitor and guide the direction of the research. Most importantly, towards the culmination of the project they will inspire our demonstrator selection by identifying applications for early adoption of this technology. To further dissemination we will publish in the highest quality in high impact journals, which will solidify UK's leading position in structural power materials. This dissemination will be further supported by presentation at international composite, materials (chemistry) and electrochemistry conferences, participation at which also provides excellent networking opportunities. Events such JEC will provide focused industrial exposure.
We have strong links with the leading Groups in structural power, such as in the US, Sweden and Korea. In addition, we will exploit the burgeoning interest in structural power to provide opportunities to collaborate with the sixty or so companies who have approached us about this technology. Organisations such as the Energy Futures Lab at Imperial College and Durham Energy Institute will have opportunities to promote the research, facilitate collaborations and exploit the technology. The IAB will also provide a mechanism for initiating collaboration and development of these materials beyond the life of the project. Regarding outreach to the general public, our track record is excellent, with the PI having received huge attention with newspaper articles worldwide. This mechanism proved to be one of the most effective to attract potential industrial collaborators. We will build on this experience to produce a website, including highly effective press releases accompanied by video-clips on Youtube, and present at events such as Imperial Festival. At the culmination of the project we will develop the model of a previous successful industrial engagement day held at NCC on ductile composites. Finally, we will train four highly skilled researchers in multifunctional material synthesis, characterisation and utilisation, with their work having been directly exposed to industry via the IAB. These interdisciplinary experts will be potential champions for technology transfer activities or other developments of the technology.
In summary, this proposal on structural power is a timely opportunity to make a significant impact in delivering new technologies and training engineers to address such future societal challenges associated with energy storage and lightweighting.
Organisations
- Imperial College London (Lead Research Organisation)
- DURHAM UNIVERSITY (Collaboration)
- University of Bristol (Collaboration)
- Sigmatex UK Ltd (Project Partner)
- Hexcel Composites Ltd (Project Partner)
- BAE Systems (UK) (Project Partner)
- QinetiQ (Project Partner)
- CHOMARAT (Project Partner)
- Airbus Group Limited (UK) (Project Partner)
Publications


Anthony D
(2023)
Silica aerogel infused hierarchical glass fiber polymer composites
in Composites Communications

Anthony D.B.
(2019)
Hierarchical carbon aerogel modified carbon fiber composites for structural power applications
in ICCM International Conferences on Composite Materials

Anthony D.B.
(2022)
STRUCTURAL SUPERCAPACITOR COMPOSITE TECHNOLOGY DEMONSTRATOR
in ECCM 2022 - Proceedings of the 20th European Conference on Composite Materials: Composites Meet Sustainability

Asfaw H
(2023)
Electrochemical performance of supercapacitor electrodes based on carbon aerogel-reinforced spread tow carbon fiber fabrics
in Composites Science and Technology

Clough B.
(2019)
Polymerisied medium internal phase emulsions as structural separators
in ICCM International Conferences on Composite Materials

De Luca H
(2020)
Piezoresistive structural composites reinforced by carbon nanotube-grafted quartz fibres
in Composites Science and Technology

Greenhalgh E
(2023)
A critical review of structural supercapacitors and outlook on future research challenges
in Composites Science and Technology

Ishfaq A
(2022)
Multifunctional design, feasibility and requirements for structural power composites in future electric air taxis
in Journal of Composite Materials

Johannisson W
(2020)
A residual performance methodology to evaluate multifunctional systems
in Multifunctional Materials
Description | We have achieved our target energy and power densities (i.e. 1.4 Wh/kg and 1.1 kW/kg, respectively). |
Exploitation Route | We anticipate this research will be adopted by industry, although there are still significant technical hurdles which need to be addressed We delivered a demonstrator component, a video for which is given above |
Sectors | Aerospace Defence and Marine Construction Creative Economy Digital/Communication/Information Technologies (including Software) Education Electronics Energy Healthcare Manufacturing including Industrial Biotechology Security and Diplomacy Transport |
URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20HMFKRxwR0 |
Description | Massless Energy |
Amount | £2,700,743 (GBP) |
Funding ID | CIET2021\136 |
Organisation | Royal Academy of Engineering |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2020 |
End | 09/2030 |
Description | Mechanical and Impact Properties of Structural Power Devices |
Amount | £166,323 (GBP) |
Funding ID | FA9550-17-1-0251 |
Organisation | European Office of Aerospace Research & Development (EOARD) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 08/2017 |
End | 08/2020 |
Description | Sorcerer |
Amount | € 1,650,632 (EUR) |
Funding ID | 738085 |
Organisation | European Commission H2020 |
Sector | Public |
Country | Belgium |
Start | 02/2017 |
End | 01/2020 |
Description | Structrual Power Fabrication |
Organisation | Durham University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Concieved collaboration on the development of methods to manufacture Structrual Power Composites, and are focussing on the current collection and encapsulation issues. |
Collaborator Contribution | Durham have focussed on the development of the structural electrolyte - particularly the issue of how to process with this material |
Impact | Too early to report anything, although there are paper currently in development |
Start Year | 2023 |
Description | Structrual Power Fabrication |
Organisation | University of Bristol |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Concieved collaboration on the development of methods to manufacture Structrual Power Composites, and are focussing on the current collection and encapsulation issues. |
Collaborator Contribution | Durham have focussed on the development of the structural electrolyte - particularly the issue of how to process with this material |
Impact | Too early to report anything, although there are paper currently in development |
Start Year | 2023 |
Description | Composite Hub Open Day |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Composite Hub Open Day, International Composites Summit, Milton Keynes, 6th September 2023. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
URL | https://cimcomp.ac.uk/hub-news/epsrc-future-composites-manufacturing-research-hub-to-host-annual-ope... |
Description | Great Exhiition Road Festival 2023 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Structural Power Stand, Great Exhibition Road Festival 2023, 16/17th June 2023. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
URL | https://www.imperial.ac.uk/events/160698/great-exhibition-road-festival-2023/ |
Description | Imperial Lates |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Structural Power Stand at Imperial Lates |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
URL | https://www.imperial.ac.uk/be-inspired/lates/ |
Description | Popular Mechanics Article |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | "Can structural batteries save electric aircraft", Popular Mechanics, 8th May 2023. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
URL | https://www.popularmechanics.com/flight/airlines/a43490954/structural-batteries-electric-aircraft/ |
Description | Presentation at Airbus Bremen at their internal Structures conference |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
Results and Impact | This was a presentation to Airbus Bremen at their structures day to convey the work we are doing on structural power materials, of which this grant is part of. From the reception it is anticipated this will lead to further discussions with Airbus about adopting this technology. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
Description | Renewable Fuel Generation and Energy Storage |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Renewable Fuel Generation and Energy Storage Symposium 2nd November 2018 Molecular Sciences Research Hub, White City Campus, Imperial College London PROGRAMME 09:00 - 09:30 Arrival and light breakfast 09:30 - 09:40 Introductory remarks: Dr. Andreas Kafizas MATERIALS Chair: Dr. Franky Bedoya 09:40 - 10:10 Life beyond titania: new materials for solar fuel generation Prof. Aron Walsh, Department of Materials 10:10 - 10:40 MOF-based composites as bifunctional materials for CO2 capture and photoconversion Dr. Camille Petit, Department of Chemical Engineering 10:40 - 11:00 Coffee & Poster session 11:00 - 11:30 Photoelectrocatalytic properties of atomically thin transition metal dichalcogenides Dr. Cecilia Mattevi, Department of Materials 11:30 - 12:00 Lead-acid batteries recycling for the 21st Century Dr. David Payne, Department of Materials 12:00 - 13:00 Lunch & Poster session TECHNIQUES AND FUNDAMENTALS Chair: Dr. Anna Hankin 13:00 - 13:30 Measuring the intrinsic catalytic performance of catalysts for fuel cells and electrolysers Prof. Anthony Kucernak, Department of Chemistry 13:30 - 14:00 Towards a parameter-free theory for electrochemical phenomena at the nanoscale Dr. Clotilde Cucinotta, Department of Chemistry 14:00 - 14:30 Transient spectroscopic studies of approaches to artificial photosynthesis Prof. James Durrant, Department of Chemistry 14:30 - 15:00 In-situ ultrafast methods for solar fuels: Can we push efficiencies? Dr. Ernest Pastor, Department of Chemistry 15:00 - 15:20 Coffee & Poster session DEVICES AND IMPLEMENTATION Chair: Dr. Ernest Pastor 15:20 - 15:50 Upscaling battery technology: From material science to pack engineering Dr. Billy Wu, Dyson School of Design Engineering 15:50 - 16:20 Electrochemical synthesis of fuels and valuable chemicals: from fundamental catalysis studies to real devices Dr. Ifan Stephens, Department of Materials 16:20 - 16:50 (Photo-)electrochemical reactors for energy conversion and storage Prof. Geoff Kelsall, Department of Chemical Engineering 16:50 - 17:20 Renewable gas from offshore wind and offshore electrolysers Dr. Malte Jansen, Centre for Environmental Policy PANEL DISUSSION Chair: Prof. Geoff Kelsall 17:20 - 18:00 Question for the panellists: Learning from the presentations today, what disruptive technologies and collaborative projects would you like to see at ICL? Panellists: Prof. James Durrant (Chemistry), Prof. Richard Templer (Chemistry & Grantham Institute), Dr. Judith Cherni (Centre for Environmental Policy) and Dr. Sam Coper (Dyson School of Design Engineering). 18:00 - 18:10 Closing remarks and prize-giving: Dr. Andreas Kafizas 18:10 - Late Wine and mingling |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
Description | STEM Visit - Norwood School |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | ii. STEM visit from Norwood Secondary School, https://www.thenorwoodschool.org/, 23rd February 2023. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
Description | Stand demonstrating technology at "The great exhibition rd festival", 2019 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Stand at the "Great Exhibition Rd festival in June 2019 |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
URL | https://www.greatexhibitionroadfestival.co.uk/whats-on/ |