Engineering News

Lithium-ion batteries are the leading choice in today's electric vehicle and battery energy storage system industries, but they contain a number of critical minerals—including lithium, cobalt, nickel and graphite—that are considered essential for economic and national security reasons and therefore vulnerable to supply chain disruptions. As renewable energy, electrified infrastructure and high-power digital technologies continue to grow, there is an increasing need for energy storage systems that are low-cost, resource-abundant and capable of fast charging and discharging.

Soft sensors convert movement, temperature and moisture into electrical signals. Repeated bending and friction can cause their metal conductors to peel from the underlying polymer, while physical damage, such as cuts, can disable the device. Commonly used petroleum-derived substrates are also environmentally unfriendly because they are difficult to recycle.