Spring action may be the future of energy storage

The future of energy storage may not lie in batteries but in springs.  An associate professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has discovered carbon nanotube springs hold as much energy as lithium ion batteries.  These springs may be the best storage device especially for mechanical energy.

Carol Livermore, associate professor of mechanical engineering at MIT, and her team have been researching the storage potential of carbon nanotube springs.  Their findings suggest that these springs hold vast potential for future energy storage especially when it comes to mechanical energy.

…the carbon nanotube springs could ultimately have an energy density — a measure of the amount of energy that can be stored in a given weight of material — more than 1,000 times that of steel springs, and comparable to that of the best lithium-ion batteries.

These springs would be better than li-ion batteries because the energy would not degrade over time nor would it be affected by extremes in temperatures.  The carbon nanotube springs would be able to store energy almost indefinitely without needing to be constantly checked.  They could also be recharged innumerable times without degrading.  No more replacing old batteries simply because they had lost their charge or would no longer recharge to an acceptable level.

Regenerative braking could be stored in springs rather than converted to electricity for storage.  The energy would be released when extra power was needed.  Usually, when mechanical energy is converted to electrical energy and then back again, some of the energy gets lost.

Unlike batteries, for example, springs can deliver the stored energy effectively either in a rapid, intense burst, or slowly and steadily over a long period — as exemplified by the difference between the spring in a mousetrap or in a windup clock. Also, unlike batteries, stored energy in springs normally doesn’t slowly leak away over time; a mousetrap can remain poised to snap for years without dissipating any of its energy.

Unfortunately, carbon nanotube springs are not ready for prime time yet.  Further research is needed to develop the springs further followed by engineering research.