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Monash University researchers say they have achieved a breakthrough in supercapacitor technology that could reshape energy storage for electric vehicles, renewable energy systems and consumer electronics.
The team has developed a new carbon-based material that enables supercapacitors to store as much energy as lead-acid batteries while delivering it much faster. The research has been published in Nature Communications and is now being commercialised by Monash spinout Ionic Industries.
Unlocking Carbon’s Potential
Supercapacitors store charge electrostatically, unlike batteries which rely on chemical reactions. A long-standing challenge has been that only a small part of the carbon material’s surface area could be accessed for storing energy.
Professor Mainak Majumder, Director of the ARC Research Hub for Advanced Manufacturing with 2D Materials, said the team overcame this through a heat treatment approach.
“Our team has shown how to unlock much more of that surface area by simply changing the way the material is heat-treated,” Professor Majumder said.
“This discovery could allow us to build fast-charging supercapacitors that store enough energy to replace batteries in many applications, and deliver it far more quickly.”
Multiscale Graphene Architecture
The researchers created a new material called multiscale reduced graphene oxide (M-rGO), produced from natural graphite, which is abundant in Australia.
By applying a rapid thermal annealing process, the team developed a curved graphene structure with defined pathways for ions to move efficiently. The result was a material with both high energy density and high power density.
Dr Petar Jovanović, a research fellow at the ARC Hub, said the performance of the new devices is among the best seen for carbon-based supercapacitors.
“When assembled into pouch cell devices, the Monash supercapacitors achieved volumetric energy densities of up to 99.5 Wh/L and power densities as high as 69.2 kW/L,” Dr Jovanović said.
“They also demonstrated rapid charging capabilities with excellent cycle stability. Importantly, the process is scalable and compatible with Australian raw materials.”
Path To Market
The commercialisation pathway is being led by Ionic Industries, which is producing quantities of the graphene materials.
Dr Phillip Aitchison, Chief Technology Officer at Ionic Industries and co-author of the study, said the company is working with industry partners to bring the technology to practical use.
“Ionic Industries was established to commercialise innovations such as these and we are now making commercial quantities of these graphene materials,” Dr Aitchison said.
“We’re working with energy storage partners to bring this breakthrough to market-led applications – where both high energy and fast power delivery are essential.”
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Supporting A Low-Carbon Future
The project has received backing from the Australian Research Council and the US Air Force Office of Sponsored Research. It forms part of Monash’s broader research focus on advanced materials to support a low-carbon energy transition.
Read the research paper: doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-63485-0.
Last Updated on September 18, 2025 by Nick Ross
