Panel-Powered Car

"QUT's Professor Nunzio Motta with one of the university's powerful nanotechnology microscopes." Source

In the hype of electric and hybrid cars, what is often dismissed is the challenge of such cars. While the fuel consumption benefits are manifest, these batteries often take a long time to charge and can be quite hazardous to the environment when discarding them. A solution, however, may come in the form of supercapacitor panels.

A supercapactior is "a 'sandwich' of electrolyte between two all-carbon electrodes." When rolled into extremely thin and strong film, they attain a high-power density. This higher power density will allow cars to accelerate quicker and charge batteries in a matter of minutes, all while maintaining a lower energy density than the standard lithium-ion battery. These supercapacitor panels can be attached anywhere across the car, from the hood to the windows, and link up to the car's batteries. And the prospects are exciting; "After one full charge this car should be able to run up to 500km - similar to a petrol-powered car and more than double the current limit of an electric car." This technology could also extend out to the rapid-charging of mobile devices, which I am sure would be greatly welcomed by society.