Student’s graphene battery could cut EV charging times

Josh de Wit, a second-year mechanical engineering student from the University of Sussex, has won the Autocar-Courland Next Generation Award for 2016 with a concept that could dramatically reduce charging times for electric vehicles (EVs) and reduce the weight of their batteries. Josh’s design harnesses the remarkable qualities of graphene, a form of pure carbon in sheets that are just one atom thick. A car battery made with stacked graphene, he says, would take far less time to charge, store more energy
December 8, 2016 Read time: 2 mins
Josh de Wit, a second-year mechanical engineering student from the University of Sussex, has won the Autocar-Courland Next Generation Award for 2016 with a concept that could dramatically reduce charging times for electric vehicles (EVs) and reduce the weight of their batteries.

Josh’s design harnesses the remarkable qualities of graphene, a form of pure carbon in sheets that are just one atom thick. A car battery made with stacked graphene, he says, would take far less time to charge, store more energy and be cheaper, stronger and lighter than existing products. This is because graphene is highly conductive, light and strong and far less would be needed.

Josh, who studies in the University’s School of Engineering and Informatics, is currently on placement with electric-motor company YASA. In the spring, he will begin a six-month work experience tour of some of the major automakers, including 1683 Honda, 7998 Jaguar Land Rover, McLaren, 838 Nissan, Peugeot and 1686 Toyota.

He is also working with the University’s business incubator, Sussex Innovation, to develop a prototype and bring his stacked-graphene battery concept to market.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Substantial savings from smarter street lighting
    February 25, 2015
    As authorities strive to reduce expenditure and carbon emissions, Colin Sowman looks at some of the smart ways of managing street lighting while containing costs and maintaining safety. Street lighting can account for 40% of an authority’s energy consumption. So, faced with the need to reduce outgoings, some authorities are looking for smart ways of managing street lighting or even turning off swathes of street lights in the small hours. Back in 2008 the E-street Initiative report concluded that authorities
    Read More
  • Machine vision - cameras for intelligent traffic management
    January 25, 2012
    For some, machine vision is the coming technology. For others, it’s already here. Although it remains a relative newcomer to the ITS sector, its effects look set to be profound and far-reaching. Encapsulating in just a few short words the distinguishing features of complex technologies and their operating concepts can sometimes be difficult. Often, it is the most subtle of nuances which are both the most important and yet also the most easily lost. Happily, in the case of machine vision this isn’t the case:
    Read More
  • Diesel ban needs action plan, says transport group
    September 3, 2020
    Financial package also required to enable households and businesses make EV switch
    Read More
  • Tampa CV pilot ‘underestimated’ challenges
    October 20, 2020
    Connected vehicle applications may be falsely marketed as 'deployment-ready', review warns
    Read More

Highlighted Content