Many international locations at the moment are taking steps to cut back their carbon emissions and transition to a extra sustainable power system. 

As a part of this effort, there was a large shift in direction of renewable power sources similar to photo voltaic, wind, and hydropower. 

Nonetheless, one of many largest challenges we face in making this transition is discovering methods to retailer this power effectively and cost-effectively.

The significance of power storage applied sciences has turn into more and more important for numerous causes. 

Power storage methods present a way of balancing energy provide and demand by storing extra power and releasing it when wanted. 

The flexibility to retailer power rapidly and effectively is essential in lots of fields, together with automotive, transportation, grid, and industrial purposes.

One such firm that has made vital strides in quick power storage in recent times is Tallinn-based Skeleton Applied sciences. 

Skeleton Applied sciences is on the forefront of power storage expertise, growing and producing superior ultracapacitors.

As part of the ‘Startup of the month’ collection, we had an opportunity to interview Taavi Madiberk, CEO of Skeleton Applied sciences, to study and perceive the inspiration behind establishing the startup, the expertise used, and the enterprise mannequin, amongst others.  

Storing power past batteries

Based in 2009 by Oliver Ahlberg and Taavi Madiberk, Skeleton Applied sciences manufactures and develops high-energy and power-density ultracapacitors or supercapacitors based mostly on a patented curved graphene materials.

Speaking concerning the firm’s operations, Madiberk says, “In brief, we’re serving to firms to cut back CO2 emissions and save power. Nonetheless, we’re doing it in a novel approach as we’re the one battery tech firm that has developed and patented its personal uncooked materials, which we name ‘curved graphene’.” 

Supercapacitors vs batteries 

Explaining the science behind Supercapacitors, Madiberk says, “Supercapacitors are a quick power storage expertise that provides excessive energy density, nearly instantaneous charging and discharging, excessive reliability, excessive temperature tolerance, and lifetimes of greater than 1,000,000 charge-discharge cycles.”

The principle distinction between supercapacitors and batteries lies in how they retailer power. 

Whereas batteries retailer power as a part of a chemical response, supercapacitors retailer power in an electrostatic discipline.

In different phrases, the power saved in batteries is launched by means of a chemical response that produces {an electrical} present, whereas the power saved in supercapacitors is launched by a movement of electrons between two conductive plates separated by an electrolyte. 

In October 2022, the Estonian firm launched “Superbattery,” which mixes the traits of a supercapacitor and battery.

“It may be charged 100x quicker than lithium-ion batteries and has a 50,000 life cycle. Additionally it is a lot safer than li-ion batteries, even when crushed, pierced, or overheated,” he claims. 

Upcoming state-of-the-art supercapacitor manufacturing facility

To amp up the manufacturing, the Estonian power storage resolution firm is about to construct what it describes as the biggest and most fashionable ultracapacitors manufacturing facility on the earth in Markranstädt, Leipzig, Germany.

The brand new manufacturing facility for the following era of supercapacitor cells in Markranstädtis is scheduled to start out manufacturing in 2024 and produce as much as twelve million cells yearly. 

The manufacturing facility may have 40x extra output than Skeleton’s different website in Saxony, which can proceed as an R&D manufacturing facility.

The brand new manufacturing facility is predicted to create 240 jobs.

Targets “hard-to-decarbonise” sector

Madiberk says Skeleton Applied sciences focuses on “hard-to-decarbonise” sectors, the place the necessity for top energy and quick charging can’t be served by batteries similar to lithium-ion batteries. 

Presently, the Estonian firm works with prospects in 4 key verticals: 

• Transportation (Skoda Electrical, CAF)
• Grid/Renewables (Hitachi Power) 
• Automotive (Honda) 
• Business (Shell, Siemens, amongst others)

“Our expertise additionally extends to different industries, together with aerospace and nuclear,” he notes. 

Materials innovation will drive the following breakthrough

Madiberk predicts that innovation in supplies will drive the following breakthrough in battery and power storage. 

“None of the present market incumbents, similar to CATL or LG, have their very own supplies expertise, and so they have exhausted many of the beneficial properties from enhanced engineering. For additional cost-down and efficiency enchancment, new supplies are wanted,” provides Madiberk. 

Nonetheless, Skeleton Applied sciences claims that its patented Curved Graphene materials affords distinctive efficiency benefits and nil working prices whereas avoiding uncommon earth metals. 

“Utilizing our personal materials, Skeleton has demonstrated its expertise management already within the supercapacitors market, we’re demonstrating it with our novel power storage product, our

SuperBattery and we are going to maintain demonstrating it within the close to future with our solid-state batteries, due to this fact servicing all of the wants and necessities of power storage,” continues Madiberk.

“We now have a transparent roadmap for scale-up of each our power storage merchandise and our curved graphene materials within the coming years,” he concludes. 

Funding and Buyers

So far, Skeleton Applied sciences has raised over €200M from a variety of strategic and monetary buyers, together with Marubeni Company, Smart co-founders (Taavet Hinrikus from Taavet+Sten), the founding group of Adyen, Benqt Wahlqvist, co-founder of battery charging specialist CTEK, Nidoco AB, and EIT InnoEnergy. 

Because the firm is within the scale-up section, they’re now hiring throughout numerous services, together with Berlin, Saxony, and Estonia.