GRAPHENE BATTERY RESEARCH
Can graphene help a battery keep more of its stored charge while still delivering useful power? FI Systems is exploring that question through early computational research into unwanted internal charge leakage and useful charge flow.
THE RESEARCH GOAL
Energy lost inside a battery is energy unavailable when a product needs it. Reducing that loss could help batteries retain charge between uses. The challenge is to preserve the flow of charge that lets a battery do useful work.
Graphene is a form of carbon made of sheets just one atom thick. Its electrical properties make it an interesting subject for materials research. Our question is how a graphene-based candidate would behave in the conditions relevant to a battery.
WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED
Preliminary computational screens gave mixed results. An apparent improvement in one damage condition could come with worse leakage in the intact condition. The early model cases did not produce a result reliable enough to support a battery improvement.
The next planned milestone is to measure the candidate material’s relevant properties before extending the models. Those measurements would help determine whether the idea deserves further development. Laboratory measurements are a future step.
We welcome conversations with battery materials researchers, cell developers and product teams interested in charge retention and useful performance.
FI Efficiency explores a separate question: how a device uses the energy available to it.
