The Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) and SPEL Technologies Pune have jointly developed a technology for generating functionalized graphene at lower costs.

This process will be used for the development of graphene-based supercapacitors for energy storage, according to the Department of Science and Technology (DST). The supercapacitors will be fabricated at SPEL.

The DST is a department within the Ministry of Science and Technology in India, established to promote new areas of science and technology and is a nodal department for organizing, coordinating, and promoting scientific and technological activities in the country.

Supercapacitors are electrical devices that are used to store a large amount of electrical charge. They are known as double-layer capacitors or ultracapacitors. They store and release energy and need a layer of electrolyte.

Electrolytes are electrically conductive material that can be solid, liquid, or somewhere in between. Electrolytes are very crucial components in the performance of electrochemical supercapacitors.

This new way of reducing graphene oxide is claimed to lead to the formation of self-healed ambient stable, reduced graphene oxide (rGO).  The release also stated that the cost of raw materials for the production of one gram of rGO is estimated to be less than ₹700 (~$9.81). This is much lower than is currently commercially available.

The ‘High-Performance Graphene-Based Super Capacitor’ project is supported and funded by the Technology Mission Division (Energy and Water), DST, under the Material for Energy Storage Program.

The DST is supporting research on energy materials through a Materials for Energy Conservation and Storage Platform (MECSP). The MECSP will support research and development for the entire spectrum of energy conservation and storage technologies from early-stage research to technology breakthroughs in materials, systems, and scalable technologies to maximize resource use efficiency.

Four centers have been developed under DST – MECSP on supercapacitors, batteries, and hydrogen. These centers include more than 20 elite institutions and 80 research personnel working on materials and next-generation devices in batteries, supercapacitors, solid-state hydrogen storage, and fuel cells.

Earlier, Mercom reported that researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and other institutions have come out with a new class of liquids that will enhance the efficiency and stability of supercapacitors. They have also developed a method to reduce the flammability of these devices.

Previously, the IISER in Bhopal launched an expression of interest for establishing a solar power project based on RESCO (renewable energy service company) model. The project is slated to be installed on an approximately six-kilometer peripheral road at IISER.