Customizing Biochar Formulations: Enabling Sustainable and High Performance Electrochemical Energy Storage Devices

Abstract

More efficient, sustainable, and secure methods for energy production, storage, and consumption are urgently needed to combat global warming and climate change. Policymakers should strive to balance immediate responses with forward-thinking energy transition strategies to create a more resilient, inclusive, and climate-secure system. To meet the 1.5°C scenario of global net zero CO2 emissions by 2050, renewables must expand across all sectors, with a twelve-fold increase in renewable electricity capacity, which translates to an additional 1,066 GW each year from 2023 onward. This transition would be driven by renewable energy adoption, enhanced energy efficiency, and electrification of end-use sectors. Modern biomass and hydrogen will become more prominent energy sources, accounting for 16% and 14% of total final energy consumption by 2050, respectively.1,2 The contribution of bioenergy and biomass feedstocks needs to increase drastically, particularly in the industrial and transport sectors. Biomass stands out as a renewable resource that offers a sustainable and versatile feedstock for various applications. Carbon materials derived from biomass play a pivotal role in electrochemical energy storage systems, such as batteries and supercapacitors.3-5 Their tunable surface chemistry, excellent electrical conductivity, and remarkable chemical robustness, make these materials ideal for enhancing the performance and durability of such energy storage/conversion devices. Within lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), carbonaceous materials are used as a host matrix for (de)insertion of lithium at anode, thereby facilitating efficient energy storage and release processes. Moreover, the carbon black is a common additive in the formulation of the porous electrodes to enhance the power rating of the lithium-ion batteries by increasing the electronic percolation network of the anode and cathode. Graphite and hard carbons are the mainstream active materials in the anodes of LIBs and sodium-ion batteries, respectively. In supercapacitors, carbon-based materials such as activated carbon and carbon nanotubes are used as the main components of the electrodes offering a high specific surface area for the charge separation enabling the fast storage and release of electrical energy for high power applications.