Scientists in India report a promising discovery based on silver niobate and lanthanum as key materials.
Renewable energy is widely regarded as a central pillar in the fight against global climate change. However, most forms—such as wind and solar power—depend on weather conditions and daylight, meaning the electricity they generate is not always available when needed. To provide power on demand, the primary storage solutions currently used are pumped-storage hydroelectricity and battery systems. In addition, so-called supercapacitors are often used to complement batteries.
These devices store energy in an electric field and, unlike batteries, can charge and discharge extremely quickly. This makes supercapacitors ideal for smoothing out power peaks or compensating for short-term fluctuations in volatile renewable energy systems. They are also used in applications that require rapid charging and discharging, such as smartphones and electric vehicles. Supercapacitors are additionally known for their long service life and low maintenance requirements. However, one major drawback is their low energy density—they store significantly less energy than batteries, making them less suitable for long-term storage.
That may be about to change, thanks to a new material that enables significant performance improvements without sacrificing speed or durability. The breakthrough was reported by researchers at the Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences in Bengaluru and Aligarh Muslim University. Their material is based on silver niobate, an environmentally friendly perovskite compound known for its excellent electrical properties. The material was doped with lanthanum, a rare earth element that also has good conductivity.
Lanthanum: A Rare Earth Element with Double Benefits
This optimization offers two key advantages, according to the news platform opengovasia.com. First, the lanthanum doping reduces the surface area of the silver niobate nanoparticles, which plays a crucial role in increasing energy storage capacity. Second, lanthanum improves the conductivity of the material, further accelerating the charging and discharging cycles.
Test results were promising: According to findings published in the Journal of Alloys and Compounds, the supercapacitor was able to reliably power an LCD display. Even after intensive use, the lanthanum-doped silver niobate retained its original energy capacity—in fact, there are indications that this capacity may even improve over time. The efficiency was also remarkably high, with almost no energy lost during power output.
India’s Ministry of Science and Technology describes the development as a potential breakthrough for compact, high-efficiency energy storage systems. The decisive factors, it notes, are the combination of high energy density, fast power delivery, and strong stability. To enable commercial use, the method must now be adapted to other perovskite materials, and industrial-scale production of lanthanum-doped components must be advanced.
Further Context: While rare earths may still prove critical in the field of energy storage, they already play a vital role in renewable energy technologies today. Experts—including the International Energy Agency (IEA)—have repeatedly called for increased investment in rare earth supply chains to ensure the success of global climate goals.
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