Automobili Lamborghini has patented a synthetic material that will serve as a technological base for a new generation of supercapacitors following three years of collaborative development with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
The new patented material was synthesized in the laboratories of MIT’s Chemistry Department with the support of Automobili Lamborghini’s Concept Development Department, and it is based on the “Metal-Organic Frameworks” (MOF) concept.
The molecular structure of this family of materials makes it the ideal candidate for producing electrodes for high performance supercapacitors, because it maximizes the specific surface area.
As a result of the patent, Lamborghini and MIT hopes to increase energy density by up to 100% compared to the technology currently on the market. The current patent represents progress, but the OEM believes the potential is much greater.
Further research by MIT and the Italian auto maker will explore additional optimization of the properties of the material, and its production on an increasingly larger scale.
A second, three-year collaboration with the MIT Mechanical Engineering Department aims to establish new design principles for high-performance battery materials that can be integrated into the vehicle structure.
The project will result in battery prototypes that provide a combination of energy storage performance, geometric versatility, and structural integrity that is critical to the performance targets set by the Lamborghini Terzo Millennio.