Jeongmin Kim, Senior Researcher at DGIST (President Kunwoo Lee), in collaboration with Damin Lee, Researcher at the RLRC of Kyungpook National University (President Young-woo Heo), has unveiled a groundbreaking self-charging energy storage device. This system efficiently stores solar energy by integrating high-performance supercapacitors with solar cells, marking a significant leap forward in sustainable energy technology.
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The research team employed a nickel-based carbonate and hydroxide composite material to design the device's electrodes. By incorporating transition metal ions such as Mn, Co, Cu, Fe, and Zn, they enhanced both conductivity and stability. This approach led to significant advancements in energy density, power density, and charge/discharge stability for energy storage devices.
- Energy Density: Achieved 35.5 Wh kg-1, surpassing the typical range of 5–20 Wh kg-1 in previous studies.
- Power Density: Reached 2555.6 W kg-1, far exceeding previous records (~1000 W kg-1), enabling rapid energy release for high-power applications.
- Stability: The device exhibited minimal performance degradation even after numerous charge/discharge cycles, confirming its long-term usability.
The team also developed an energy storage device combining silicon solar cells with the supercapacitors. This innovative system allows for the real-time storage and use of solar energy, achieving:
- Energy Storage Efficiency: 63 %
- Overall System Efficiency: 5.17 %
These results demonstrate the potential for practical applications and commercialization of self-charging energy storage technology.
This study is a significant achievement, as it marks the development of Korea’s first self-charging energy storage device combining supercapacitors with solar cells. By utilizing transition metal-based composite materials, we have overcome the limitations of energy storage devices and presented a sustainable energy solution.
Jeongmin Kim, Senior Researcher, Nanotechnology Division, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology
Damin Lee, Researcher, RLRC of Kyungpook National University, stated, “We will continue to conduct follow-up research to further improve the efficiency of the self-charging device and enhance its potential for commercialization.”
This research was supported by DGIST’s Institutional Core Projects, Early Career Researcher Projects, and the Regional Leading Research Center for Carbon-Neutral Intelligent Energy System at Kyungpook National University. The findings were published in the prestigious journal Energy (ranked in the top 3.2 % of JCR) in December.
Journal Reference:
Lee, D., et al. (2024) Design of high-performance binary carbonate/hydroxide Ni-based supercapacitors for photo-storage systems. doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2024.133593