Australian scientists have developed a cost-efficient and scaleable method for rapidly fabricating textiles that are embedded with energy storage devices. In just three minutes, the method can produce a smart textile patch that’s waterproof, stretchable and readily integrated with energy harvesting technologies. The technology enables graphene supercapacitors -- powerful and long-lasting energy storage devices that are easily combined with solar or other sources of power -- to be laser printed directly onto textiles.

Current approaches to smart textile energy storage, like stitching batteries into garments or using e-fibers, can be cumbersome and heavy, and can also have capacity issues. These electronic components can also suffer short-circuits and mechanical failure when they come into contact with sweat or with moisture from the environment. The graphene-based supercapacitor is not only fully washable, it can store the energy needed to power an intelligent garment -- and it can be made in minutes at large scale. The technology can enable real-time storage of renewable energies for e-textiles.

The growing smart fabrics industry has diverse applications in wearable devices, health care and defense sectors -- from monitoring vital signs of patients, to tracking the location and health status of soldiers in the field, and monitoring pilots or drivers for fatigue.