https://www.epo.org/en/news-events/press-centre/press-release/2022/452155

Powering up energy storage: Jaan Leis, Mati Arulepp and Anti Perkson named European Inventor Award 2022 finalists

17.05.2022

in Press release

Estonian scientists Jaan Leis, Mati Arulepp and Anti Perkson nominated for European Patent Office (EPO) prize for developing superior carbon-based materials for ultracapacitors
The invention, which uses a material called curved graphene, increases the amount of energy stored by the ultracapacitors and the amount of power they can supply
According to the inventors, ultracapacitors with curved graphene can charge within 15 seconds, withstand over one million charge cycles and are free from toxic materials

Munich, 17 May 2022 - The European Patent Office (EPO) announces that Estonian scientists Jaan Leis, Mati Arulepp and Anti Perkson have been nominated for the European Inventor Award 2022 for optimising the carbon-based electrodes of energy storage devices known as ultracapacitors or supercapacitors.

Their invention, which tweaks the properties of a carbon material called curved graphene, significantly enhances the power and energy density of ultracapacitors, devices that can deliver and store energy quickly. They are used in situations that need many rapid charge and discharge cycles, such as the acceleration and braking of electric vehicles. Leis and Perkson co-founded the Estonian ultracapacitor producer Skeleton Technologies to commercialise their invention.

"The technology developed by this Estonian team can help our transition away from fossil fuels by improving the performance of alternative energy sources," said EPO President António Campinos, announcing the finalists. "Their success is built upon twenty years of incremental breakthroughs, and highlights how continuously investment in innovation can advance an entire industry such as energy storage."

The three inventors are one of three finalist teams in the "Industry" category of the Award, which recognises outstanding inventors in commercially-successful technologies patented by large European companies with more than 250 employees and an annual turnover of more than EUR 50 million. The winners of the 2022 edition of the EPO's European Inventor Award will be announced at a virtual ceremony on 21 June.

Developing the tech

Supercapacitors and batteries both supply electrical energy to machinery, though in different, complementary ways. Batteries deliver their energy steadily and are more suited to long, regular tasks. Supercapacitors are suited to delivering large, short bursts of energy for functions where power is needed quickly. For example, they are considered to be particularly suited for electric vehicles.

In 2018, the Skeleton Technologies began testing ultracapacitor-powered trams in Mannheim, Heidelberg, and Ludwigshafen in Germany. By capturing braking power and re-using it for acceleration, the ultracapacitors resulted in up to 30% savings in electrical energy, according to the company.

Leis, Arulepp and Perkson began to think about how carbon and graphene could be improved to deliver better energy performance in capacitors while working at the research institute Tartu Technologies in the late 1990s. At the time, carbon material (usually woven as a carbon cloth) was being used for supercapacitor technology, but the material had large pores, which meant its energy density was low, making it energetically inefficient.

The three researchers wanted to tailor-make a carbon material which could provide a better energy density. They began to experiment with carbide (a compound composed of carbon and a metal) alongside carbon powders and different methods to see if the energy density, homogeneity and purity could be improved. Each new improvement was documented in a patent application, with the first one being filed in 2001.

"We have always had this idea that when we develop something in the lab, it has to have real value," says Leis. "This is a big difference from scientific articles - you always find something new, but is it applicable to real life?"

The trio also researched ways to engineer graphene (a single layer of carbon atoms) to have a consistent pore size, turning it into a more efficient electrode material by improving how the electrolyte ions fit within the pores. This led them to optimise the curved graphene now used in their ultracapacitor electrodes. Curved graphene is engineered to have a form similar to a crumpled-up piece of paper, which gives it a higher surface area on the electrode and so a higher density to transmit power.

Leis and Perkson co-founded Skeleton Technologies with their business partners in 2009 to commercialise their research and continue to fine-tune their curved graphene technology.

Ahead of the curve

The curved graphene optimised by Leis, Arulepp and Perkson gives the company's supercapacitors exceptional energy density and improved electrical conductivity. According to Skeleton, their supercapacitors can charge within 15 second and withstand over 1 million charges.

Their optimised curved graphene, which is manufactured entirely in Europe, has a high chemical purity and is free of the toxic materials commonly found in other battery/capacitor technology, such as lithium or cobalt. This ensures reliability and limits the environmental impact of the company's ultracapacitors

The company also sees other uses for its curved graphene technology, particularly in the growing electric vehicle market. They are now applying their supercapacitor expertise to a capacitor-battery hybrid system that merges standard lithium-ion cells and the company's supercapacitor cells.

Skeleton Technologies has around 240 employees and is based in Großröhrsdorf, Germany (manufacturing), Berlin (sales) and Tallinn (R&D and pilot production). The company currently has EUR 1.3 billion worth of commercial agreements and intends to scale up its facilities to be capable of producing 12 million units per year in a fully automated production line.

Notes to the editor

About the inventors

Jaan Leis has a PhD in theoretical and computer chemistry from the University of Tartu, and began working as a chemist-technologist in Tartu Technologies in 1999, while continuing his role as a researcher in the university. Leis left in 2008 before co-founding Skeleton Technologies in 2009. Since 2021 he is also an Associate Professor in Molecular Technology at the University of Tartu and continues to work as a consultant at Skeleton.

Mati Arulepp has a PhD in physical and electrochemistry from the University of Tartu. He began his career at the research institute Tartu Technologies, where he spent time during his PhD studies. He subsequently worked at Carbon Nanotech before later joining Leis and Perkson at Skeleton Technologies in 2010 as a lead scientist. Since 2016 he has been a technical expert at the company.

Anti Perkson graduated with a PhD in Chemical Physics from the University of Tartu. In 1998 he began work at Tartu Technologies as a research scientist. In 2009 he co-founded Skeleton Technologies with Leis and others. In 2013 he then joined the company as their Chief Technical Officer and since 2016 has served as their materials science consultant.

The team is named in European patents EP2616564B1 (granted in 2017), EP2978003B1 (granted in 2017) and EP2633532B1 (granted in 2015).

View the video and photo material for Jaan Leis, Mati Arulepp and Anti Perkson

About the European Inventor Award

The European Inventor Award is one of Europe's most prestigious innovation prizes. Launched by the EPO in 2006, the award honours individuals and teams' solutions to some of the biggest challenges of our times. The finalists and winners are selected by an independent jury comprising former Award finalists. Together, they examine the proposals for their contribution towards technical progress, social and sustainable development and economic prosperity. The EPO will confer the Award in four categories (Industry, Research, SMEs and Non-EPO countries), as well as announcing a Lifetime achievement award at a virtual ceremony on 21 June. In addition, the public selects the Popular Prize winner from the 13 finalists by voting on the EPO website in the run-up to the ceremony. Voting is open until 21 June 2022. Read more on the European Inventor Award eligibility and selection criteria.

This year, for the first time, the EPO will also award bright young minds with the Young Inventors prize. The new prize offers a monetary reward to the three finalists to further encourage them to find creative solutions to pressing sustainable development challenges.

About the EPO

With 6 400 staff, the European Patent Office (EPO) is one of the largest public service institutions in Europe. Headquartered in Munich with offices in Berlin, Brussels, The Hague and Vienna, the EPO was founded with the aim of strengthening co-operation on patents in Europe. Through the EPO's centralised patent granting procedure, inventors are able to obtain high-quality patent protection in up to 44 countries, covering a market of some 700 million people. The EPO is also the world's leading authority in patent information and patent searching.