The researchers are working on a new device that uses carbon nanotubes to store and release electrical energy in a system that could carry as much power as today’s lead or lithium batteries.
But unlike the rechargeable batteries used on today’s cellphones and laptop computers, these devices could be recharged hundreds of thousands of times before wearing out.
There are the skeptics, of course:
Andrew Burke, research engineer at the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California at Davis, said that the new capacitors would have to be many times more powerful than any previously created. “I have a lot of respect for those guys, but I have not seen any data,” Burke said. “Until I see the data, I’m inclined to be skeptical.”
Even if Schindall’s capacitors work, he doubts they’ll transform the electronics industry overnight. Companies have too much invested in today’s battery systems, and it would take years before carbon nanotube capacitors could be mass-produced.
A classic innovator’s dilemma.
I’ve never been a big battery fan. Chemical energy storage always seemed very crude to me.