Carbon nanonballs could be key to sustainable energy systems, Swedish researchers say

Adding nanonmeter-sized carbon balls to high-voltage cables can help save energy, Swedish scientists have found.

Researchers at Gothenburg's Chalmers University of Technology have discovered that the insulation plastic used in high-voltage cables can withstand a 26 per cent higher voltage if nanometer-sized "carbon balls" are added.

This measure could result in efficiency gains in power grids and could help achieve a sustainable energy system, the researchers claim.

"Being able to increase the voltage to this extent would result in enormous efficiency gains in power transmission all over the world," Chalmers researcher Christian Muller said in a press release.

"A major issue in the industry is how transmission efficiency can be improved without making the power cables thicker, since they are already very heavy and difficult to handle," Muller added.

In collaboration with the company Borealis in Sweden, Muller and his colleagues have shown that different variants of the C60 carbon ball - a nanomaterial in the fullerene molecular group - provide strong protection against breakdown of the insulation plastic used in high-voltage cables.

The researchers' next step will be to test the method on a large scale in complete high-voltage cables for alternating current. They will also test the method in high-voltage cables for direct current, since direct current is more efficient than alternating current for power transmission over very long distances. Endit