Strategic Elements Ltd (ASX:SOR) continues to set a solid pace in the development of Energy Ink™ with the energy from the technology on track to exceed the power density of solar technology.
This has come about through technical breakthroughs by SOR subsidiary Australian Advanced Materials (AAM) along with Professor Dewei Chu and his team from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in the process of converting moisture into electrical energy.
It is a major development for the team as power density is a measure of how much power can be generated from a given space and, to date, no other relevant renewable energy technology has come close to exceeding the power density of solar technology.
Moisture-to-energy breakthroughs
The research team is engineering breakthroughs in moisture-to-energy conversion into an Energy Ink™ cell designed for renewable energy generation and now with a power density exceeding solar technology.
Professor Chu said, “We are very keen to work with the Strategic Elements team and potential end users of the Energy Ink to leverage the great potential of moisture-enabled power generation in applications from wearable electronics to IoT sensors and now to larger-scale electricity generation.”
Power density is highly desirable in renewable energy technology as it means that more power can be generated from a given space. In the context of solar panels, power density refers to the amount of power that can be generated per unit area of the panel.
Photovoltaic technology (solar) has the highest power density of all renewable energy sources and is the gold standard. Exceeding the power density of solar will represent a significant global achievement for Energy Ink™.
Power density is also used to predict the potential power output of renewable energy systems scaled up over a larger area or volume.
Once the power density of the Energy Ink™ cell is finalised, predictions on the potential power output of a larger-scale system can be made, which will assist Strategic Elements in communicating the significant potential larger-scale opportunity of the technology.
Potential features
SOR is focusing on entering a market in which solar or grid energy is impractical or too expensive and, as such, is working with experts from specialised areas, such as electric vehicle charging and computing infrastructure, to identify initial applications that leverage the features of the Energy Ink™.
Potential features of the technology are:
- Renewable green energy;
- Position in a cabinet indoors or outdoors;
- Utilises free, limitless ambient moisture;
- Avoid expensive grid infrastructure;
- Generate energy both day and night;
- Much smaller footprint;
- Portability, lightweight, flexible materials; and
- Printable materials reducing time and cost.
Strategic Elements managing director Charles Murphy said, “It is obvious that the potential rewards from the successful development of larger-scale Energy Ink systems are immense.
"However, it should also be recognised that the technology is under development and still has risks.
"Success in the short-term development pathway outlined will provide a strong, early indication of the technology’s potential to scale up and power certain larger-scale systems.”
What comes next?
The short-term development path of AAM and the UNSW team is:
- Nano-engineering of recent discoveries into an ink formula.
- Optimisation of the ink to enable cells to be printed freestanding or onto a polymer, creating an ultra-thin layer of approximately 200 micrometres (2 pieces of paper).
- Fabrication and testing of Energy Ink™ cells with power density exceeding solar (>20mW per square centimetre).
For the latter nano-engineering and optimisation are expected to take about 12 weeks while fabrication and testing are expected to take a further 10-12 weeks.
SOR said that an additional significant development in Energy Ink™ cells for renewable energy was being finalised and information would be released when appropriate.
In conjunction with the company’s Perth Engineering Lab, the team is developing and testing an Energy Ink™ cell for use in wearable technologies.
Part of this work is funded by the Australian Federal Government under a $1.6 million project. Recent success has been demonstrated in powering Electronic Skin Patches, which need to sense, collect data and communicate via Bluetooth to a phone or reader.
The team is also seeking to develop a different type of Energy Ink™ cell, customised specifically for use in the Internet of Things (IoT) sector.
A $2.7 million project is under consideration for Federal Government support to develop alternative power sources for IoT sensors. If successful, funding, expertise and highly advanced, specialised equipment will be available to commence a significant development program in April 2023.