[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/5802\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EHigh-power capacitors to replace batteries\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe new breed of capacitors \u2013 components usually used to store an electric charge for seconds \u2013 can hold massive amounts of power and store it for much longer than traditional rechargeable batteries.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThat solves two conundrums for engineers. It means they could make electric cars that don\u2019t need to charge for hours every few hundred miles, and it removes the major downside of wind farms and solar panels, that they can\u2019t store the excess energy they make on windy or sunny days.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe promise of so-called supercapacitors, or ultra high-energy capacitors, to transform renewable energy and electronic devices is one reason why the EU has set up the Graphene Flagship, one of the biggest ever research initiatives worth hundreds of millions of euros over the next ten years, when contributions from partners are also taken into account.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThis \u2018massive funding from the EU\u2026puts a huge burden \u2013 or responsibility \u2013 on our shoulders, and will require us to focus on results and stay away from hype\u2019, said Professor Andrea Ferrari of Cambridge University, one of the lead investigators of the Graphene Flagship.\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003E\u2018Efforts are currently dedicated to move supercapacitors towards high energy density as well as high power density.\u2019\u0026amp;nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EDr Deirdre Savage, Researcher, 2DNANOCAPS, Trinity College Dublin \u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe idea behind the initiative is to drive forward the study of graphene, one atom thick carbon that is highly conductive and stronger than steel. Graphene is being used to make ultra-strong materials for planes, miniscule medical devices, and it is being rolled up into microscopic nanotubes to make supercapacitors.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProf. Andre Geim, a \u003Cspan lang=\u0022EN-GB\u0022\u003Ephysicist\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/span\u003Ewho won the Nobel Prize in 2010 for his work on graphene, famously made the substance by pulling a piece of sticky tape off a piece of carbon. However, the technique is ill-suited to mass production, and scientists are still trying to work out how to make graphene in large quantities economically.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong style=\u0022line-height: 1.538em;\u0022\u003EEU projects\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn the laboratory, however, research on graphene is already well underway. EU-funded projects like 2DNANOCAPS and AUTOSUPERCAP, a project aimed specifically at cars,\u0026nbsp;\u003Cspan style=\u0022line-height: 1.538em;\u0022\u003Ehave made significant steps in getting the technology to work. They\u0027re focussing their efforts on making the supercapacitors hold their charge for longer.\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Whereas batteries possess a high energy density but low power density, today\u2019s supercapacitors possess high power density but low energy density,\u2019 said Trinity College\u2019s Dr Deirdre Savage, a researcher at 2DNANOCAPS. \u2018Efforts are currently dedicated to move supercapacitors towards high energy density as well as high power density.\u2019 In other words, the aim is to extend the cycle time between recharging.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022img_legend\u0022 style=\u0022float: left;\u0022\u003E\u003Cfigure role=\u0022group\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cimg alt=\u0022Graphene is a one atom thick material made of carbon. Its intrinsic properties make it a perfect candidate for, among others, better electronic applications. \u00a9 University of Manchester\u0022 height=\u0022135\u0022 src=\u0022\/research-and-innovation\/sites\/default\/files\/hm\/HO-Graph-appli-Tunnelling%20transistor%20U%20of%20Manchester.jpg\u0022 title=\u0022Graphene is a one atom thick material made of carbon. Its intrinsic properties make it a perfect candidate for, among others, better electronic applications. \u00a9 University of Manchester\u0022 width=\u0022200\u0022\u003E\n\u003Cfigcaption class=\u0022tw-italic tw-mb-4\u0022\u003EGraphene is a one atom thick material made of carbon. Its intrinsic properties make it a perfect candidate for, among others, better electronic applications. \u00a9 University of Manchester\u003C\/figcaption\u003E\n\u003C\/figure\u003E\n\u003Cem\u003EGraphene is a one atom thick material made of carbon. Its intrinsic properties make it a perfect candidate for, among others, better electronic applications. \u00a9 University of Manchester \u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EWhile easy enough to say, this is hard to do. The main barriers, Savage said, are \u2018the intrinsic difficulty in handling and processing materials at nano-scale, and the lack of communication across different scientific disciplines\u2019.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThat\u2019s where the Graphene Flagship comes in. The 10-year initiative has four Nobel Laureates on its advisory council: Professor Albert Fert, Professor Andre Geim, Professor Kostya Novoselov and Professor Klaus von Klitzing, and is aimed at giving researchers the resources and network to communicate across different areas of science. This should enable them to realise the potential of graphene, and if they succeed, then charging your laptop every day will soon seem as old fashioned as payphones and floppy disks.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022moreinfoblock\u0022\u003E\n \u003Ch3\u003ETomorrow\u2019s electric wires made of carbon\u003C\/h3\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EThey\u2019re made out of carbon dioxide and methane, each step in the manufacturing process takes just seconds, and scientists believe they could replace traditional copper and aluminium electric wiring.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECarbon nanotube fibre, made up of millions of microscopic carbon nanotubes, is stronger than copper and aluminium, meaning it will not break as easily as traditional electrical cable, and it\u2019s also lighter, cheaper and highly conductive.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EA research group at Britain\u2019s University of Cambridge, partially funded by the EU\u2019s European Research Council, has developed a way to manufacture carbon nanotube fibre for much less than it costs to extract aluminium and copper, making it an economically and environmentally viable alternative to traditional wiring.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Increasing demand for electrical energy observed nowadays requires much more efficient conductors than copper or aluminium,\u2019 said lead researcher Dr Krzysztof Koziol. \u2018Carbon nanotubes, in particular, are perfect for that.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/textarea\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n \u003Cdiv id=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 class=\u0022ecl-help-block description\u0022\u003E\n Please copy the above code and embed it onto your website to republish.\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cinput autocomplete=\u0022off\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022form-l323tx6rrohy2t-b0paxnudx3y8a7f6bley1q08-huw\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_build_id\u0022 value=\u0022form-l323tx6rroHy2t-b0PAXnUDX3y8a7F6bleY1Q08_hUw\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003Cinput data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_id\u0022 value=\u0022modal_form_example_modal_form\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003C\/form\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E","dialogOptions":{"width":"800","modal":true,"title":"Republish this content"}}]