A Review of Structural Batteries Implementations and Applications

Structural batteries are multifunctional devices capable of carrying mechanical loads and storing electrical energy simultaneously. This paper reviews the implementations of structural batteries and their potential applications in transportation electrification. In the structure-based category of implementations, electrochemical batteries are embedded into load-bearing mechanical structures, which can be seen as a top-down approach to integrate separate structures to implement the multi-functionality of energy storage and load bearing. In the material-based category, multifunctional materials are engineered to exhibit both structural and electrochemical properties, which is actually a bottom-up approach to realize the multi-functionality. This paper also reviews the potential benefits of introducing structural batteries into electric vehicles, aerospace systems, and marine systems in terms of reducing the system weight and enhancing the system performance.