A Renewable Energy Innovation: The Paper Battery

For companies that need to store large amounts of energy, it can be challenging to envision a battery that is not large. But scientists at the Linkoping University in Sweden are challenging what batteries can look like by creating what they’re calling “Power Paper” – a simple battery made of paper pulp and a conductive polymer.

The sheets of the rechargeable paper are very thin at just a few tenths of a millimeter thick, but a paper battery 6 inches in diameter can store as much energy as some super capacitors on the market. They recharge in seconds, and can be recharged hundreds of times, making is a super reusable product with a very small startup cost and impact. 

Overall, this paper battery solves multiple challenges with current large-scale batteries. For one, it’s thinness and flexibility made the batteries durable and easy to handle, and offer space-saving for storage. The strength of the Power Paper is proven by its ability to be folded multiple times, and into many shapes (like a paper swan). The added polymer also makes the batteries waterproof. Made from simple materials, the batteries are also safe to handle, are less expensive to create. The creators hope that the Power Paper will be applied as back-up energy storage for variable energy sources, such as solar or wind power, which relies on changing environments.

Though made from renewable paper pulp, it’s unclear whether or not the batteries can be made from recycled paper materials reconstituted into pulp. But this project can be expanded to become a recycling innovation in time, as scientists aim to improve the cost-effectiveness of producing the batteries for large-scale deployment.