What is a structural energy storage device?

Structural energy storage devices function as both a structural component and an energy storage device simultaneously. Therefore, a system (e.g. a vehicle) with such multifunctional devices can have better mass efficiency and longer operating time.

What are structural batteries?

This type of batteries is commonly referred to as “structural batteries”. Two general methods have been explored to develop structural batteries: (1) integrating batteries with light and strong external reinforcements, and (2) introducing multifunctional materials as battery components to make energy storage devices themselves structurally robust.

Is multifunctional design effective in structural batteries?

While direct comparisons might be challenging, the improved mechanical properties and augmented energy densities validate the efficacy of the introduced multifunctional design in structural batteries.

How to implement structural batteries in vehicles?

To implement structural batteries in systems such as vehicles, several key points must be satisfied first, including mechanical and electrochemical performance, safety, and costs, as summarized in Fig. 8. In this section, these points will be briefly discussed, covering current challenges and future development directions. Figure 8.

Why is structural energy storage important?

Though not systematically summarized here, those works can be of great benefit to the field of structural energy storage to better understand how a component or a device responds to a certain stimulation such as current or mechanical impact, and thus to better design devices with higher performance and safety.

Do structural batteries improve energy storage performance?

Utilizing structural batteries in an electric vehicle offers a significant advantage of enhancing energy storage performance at cell- or system-level. If the structural battery serves as the vehicle's structure, the overall weight of the system decreases, resulting in improved energy storage performance (Figure 1B).