Ankur Gupta, an assistant professor of chemical and biological engineering. (File)
An Indian-origin researcher and his team have unveiled a novel technology that can charge an electric car in 10 minutes and a dead laptop and phone in a minute. As per a report by news agency IANS, this new technology has been discovered by Ankur Gupta, an assistant professor of chemical and biological engineering at the US-based University of Colorado Boulder and his team of researchers.
In a study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers discovered the movement of ions—tiny charged particles—within a complex network of microscopic pores.
As per Mr Gupta, the development of more efficient storage devices like supercapacitors can be accelerated by this breakthrough discovery.
Mr Gupta mentioned that a supercapacitor is an energy storage device that depends on ion collection in their pores. It is worth noting that in comparison to batteries, supercapacitors have fast charging times and longer life spans.
The assistant professor noted that this discovery is crucial not only for storing energy in EVs and electronic devices but also for power grids.
About power grids, Mr Gupta said that fluctuating energy needs efficient storage to avoid waste during periods of low demand and ensure speedy delivery during periods of high demand.
The team of researchers also claimed that the primary appeal of supercapacitors lies in their speed.
The researchers also said that in just minutes, this discovery allows the simulation and prediction of ion flow in a complicated network of thousands of interconnected pores. They explained that before this discovery, the movements of ions were only defined in the literature in one straight pore.
A report by Phys.org quoted Ankur Gupta as saying, “Given the critical role of energy in the future of the planet, I felt inspired to apply my chemical engineering knowledge to advancing energy storage devices. It felt like the topic was somewhat underexplored and, as such, the perfect opportunity.”
He added, “The primary appeal of supercapacitors lies in their speed. So how can we make their charging and release of energy faster? By the more efficient movement of ions. That's the leap of the work. We found the missing link.”