Supercapacitor Energy Storage Device Charges Smartphones In 20 Seconds

Someone once said, “Necessity is the mother of invention,” which in plain English means difficult situations inspire ingenious solutions. Some teenagers in the world definitely understand this. Recently a teenager got tired of the spoilers on Twitter, so she developed a plugin to hide them. Another teenager needed a prosthetic arm, so he developed a way to 3D print one for cheap. Today it’s about a teenager who got tired of her smartphone battery dying, so she created a supercapacitor that can charge it in 20 seconds.

The first thing you are probably asking is where you can get a supercapacitor like that, right? The girl who invented this is 18-year-old Eesha Khare. On Friday she won the Intel Foundation Young Scientist Award (and $50,000) for her invention of this tiny energy-storing device. As if that wasn’t enough, her supercapacitor (as people are calling it since it packs a lot of energy into a tiny space) will last for 10,000 charge-recharge cycles. Regular rechargeable batteries typically only last for about 1,000 cycles.

Eesha envisions her device being put into all mobile devices, which would basically free us from our constant dependency on power outlets during the day. She demonstrated its effectiveness by powering an LED. According to NBC News, she said, “It’s also flexible, so it can be used in rollup displays and clothing and fabric. It has a lot of different applications and advantages over batteries in that sense.”

This is such a great testament for how the technology we have available today is inspiring young people in the world to make it a better place for us all. I hope a technology company scoops this girl up when she graduates from high school. She is a genius. Thank you, Eesha. We hope your revolutionary device changes the world!