Indian scientists engineer new material to dramatically enhance energy storage capacity

In a breakthrough that could redefine how energy is stored and used, Indian scientists have engineered a next-generation energy storage material that dramatically enhances the performance of supercapacitors.

At the heart of modern energy storage is the supercapacitor — a device that can rapidly store and release large amounts of energy, making them crucial for powering everything from mobile devices and electric vehicles to renewable energy systems.

While functionally faster than batteries, supercapacitors have often lagged behind in the amount of energy they can hold. Scientists have been exploring materials that can increase storage without sacrificing speed or longevity.

A team of Indian researchers led by Dr Kavita Pandey at the Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences (CeNS), focused on silver niobate, a lead-free and environmentally friendly material with excellent electrical characteristics. They injected lanthanum, a rare-earth element known for its beneficial electronic properties into silver niobate nanoparticles. This shrank the silver niobate nanoparticles, allowing more surface area for energy storage.

The lanthanum improved the material’s ability to conduct electricity, thus speeding up the energy charge-discharge cycles. As a result of the lanthanum doping strategy, energy retention skyrocketed, with the material retaining 118 per cent of its initial capacity after extensive use and efficiency hit perfection, and virtually no energy being lost in use, this giving 100 per cent coulombic efficiency.

An asymmetric supercapacitor prototype was built with the material that successfully powered an LCD display, hinting at real-world applications, according to information shared by the Ministry of Science and Technology.

This research has been published in the Journal of Alloys and Compounds, a British peer reviewed scientific publication.

According to the researchers, fossil fuels contribute significantly to the global energy supply and natural disasters and are increasingly impacting energy infrastructure, which highlights the urgent need for reliable, sustainable and cost-effective energy solutions.

Renewable energy, despite its promise, is constrained by its intermittent nature, underscoring the importance of highly efficient energy conversion and storage technologies. Although widely used, traditional batteries face limitations such as high costs, short lifespan and environmental concerns.

With the successful commercialisation of electric vehicles, the demand for energy storage devices is becoming increasingly critical. This growing reliance on renewables and electrified transportation further emphasises the necessity for innovative approaches to ensure consistent energy availability and grid stability.

The rapid growth of portable electronic devices, aircraft and hybrid vehicles has increased the demand for profitable, economically feasible and environmentally friendly energy storage solutions.

Supercapacitors, with their exceptionally high power density and rapid energy release, are ideal for handling transient power spikes and due to their fast charge and discharge rates, excellent stability, long cycle life, and low maintenance, SCs have emerged as promising alternatives for future energy storage, the researchers said in their published study.