Calicut varsity ties up with coop. tech company to develop supercapacitors
University sources said on Thursday that the collaboration with Malabar Co-op Tech was aimed at taking a breakthrough material developed entirely in India from the lab to real-world applications. The research team lead by Yahya Ismail, Professor, Department of Chemistry, and his student, Sivakrishna Prakash, had been working for the past five years on developing a new-generation energy storage material that would address some of the biggest limitations in current supercapacitors.
Ideal for electric vehicles
The material combines polyaniline, a highly conductive polymer, with heteroatom-doped reduced graphene oxide, a modified carbon-based nanomaterial known for its exceptional surface area and electrical conductivity. Mr. Ismail and Mr. Prakash said that what sets this invention apart was the strong chemical bondingbetween the components, which would ensure high energy storage, rapid charging, and long-term durability. 'It can store more energy than typical supercapacitors, charge very quickly, and maintain performance for thousands of cycles—making it ideal for electric vehicles, solar energy systems, and portable electronics,' they said.
M.K. Jaison, project head, Malabar Co-op Tech, said that the company would provide the engineering support, infrastructure, and technology platform required to manufacture complete supercapacitor devices, facilitating a seamless transition from lab-scale innovation to real-world application. He said that this was for the first time that a cooperative sector body was getting directly engaged in the high-tech energy storage manufacturing domain.
Mr. Jaison said that India currently depends on imported electrode materials, primarily from China, to assemble supercapacitors. This over-reliance on imports and limited domestic research and development have historically stifled indigenous innovation and self-reliance in this critical clean energy segment. By focussing on both material development and device manufacturing within India, the project represents a key step towards building a fully localised supply chain for advanced energy storage solutions. It is expected to open up possibilities for large-scale commercialisation, technology export, and job creation in the clean energy sector, he added.
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