Multifunctional composite materials for energy storage in structural load paths

This paper presents an overview of the research performed to date by a Swedish interdisciplinary team of scientists striving to develop multifunctional composite materials for storage of electric energy in mechanical load paths. To realise structural batteries from polymer composites, research pursued on carbon fibres for use as negative electrode in the battery as well as on polymer electrolytes for use as polymer matrix in the composite is reported. The work on carbon fibres comprises characterisation of the electrochemical capacity of commercial carbon fibre grades and how this is affected by mechanical load. Co-polymers are studied for their multifunctional performance with respect to lithium ion conductivity and stiffness. Also, rational processing of these polymer electrolytes and the effect of processing on their properties are addressed.