Hemp batteries could have a significant impact on the future of sustainable energy
Scientists are discovering more and more uses for hemp, with recent research indicating that hemp batteries are even more powerful than lithium and graphene.
Unbelievably versatile, industrial hemp is already used for biodegradable plastics, construction, fuel, paper, food, textiles and more. With new research showing hemp could have a significant impact on the future of sustainable energy.
The experiment was conducted by researcher Robert Murray Smith and was discussed on his YouTube channel. Smith began by observing a Volts by Amps curve of both the hemp and lithium batteries. Surprisingly, the power underneath the hemp cell was a value of 31 while that of the lithium cell had a value of just 4. Smith doesn’t claim to have proven anything. Rather, he says the results of the experiment simply show the performance of the hemp cell is “significantly better” than the lithium cell.
This discovery isn't new. In 2013, researchers at the University of Alberta National Institute for Nanotechnology discovered how to process hemp hurd (the plant’s inner woody core that typically ends up as a waste product) into ultrafast supercapacitors through hydrothermal processing and chemical activation. The final product is one that’s able to soak up more electricity, providing better energy capacity. This solution produces not only a cheaper material — with hemp costing one-thousandth of the price of graphene — but one that performs up to four times better than graphene. Better yet, from bio-waste!
If this solution can be easily reproduced, it would affect far more than just the electronics industries. Supercapacitors represent a fundamental shift in energy storage. Imagine if every battery-powered object used hemp-power instead! It would mean that hemp would be undeniable in its utilitarian value.
As the crop is decriminalised, hemp will transform the way mankind relates to energy and help transition our planet to run on sustainable energy. There seems to be no limit to the possible uses for hemp.
References:
https://truththeory.com/2019/10/02/study-suggests-hemp-batteries-more-powerful-than-lithium/
https://ministryofhemp.com/blog/hemp-supercapacitors/