Utilizing Graphene Fiber Cables Electroplated in Copper Molecules For Optimal Energy Efficiency

6 min readOct 26, 2020

By: Anjini Katari, Ruhee Hegde, Syona Gupta, Ashley Peng

I. Overall

We use energy for everything; lighting up our homes, making a sandwich, manufacturing products, and more. It is an integral part of the technological revolution we live in. To be able to use energy for tasks, we utilize the energy grid, which is a system that transports electricity all across the nation. High-voltage cables are suspended high in the air. These cables allow enormous amounts of electricity to move from power plants to homes and businesses. However, existing cables often require a lot of energy for transportation.

II. Effects

For decades, the US has enjoyed a power grid that was more than 99 percent reliable, delivering electricity. The overall efficiency from primary energy to delivered work is about 33 percent for energy in the US. Almost ⅔ of the energy that is consumed as primary energy is released as waste. Two key areas this involves include fossil fuels and electricity. Fossil fuels are delivered to users with relatively high efficiency, but when it is burned or used to create other forms of useful energy the waste grows rapidly. Electricity is generally used efficiently, but the generation and delivery of electric power consume almost ⅔ of the primary energy delivered to the grid, leaving less than 40 percent of the primary energy to be converted to useful work. These areas of loss are opposite for the two types of fuel: electricity loses a large amount of energy in the production and delivery stages, while fossil fuel losses occur mostly at the end of the line; in user systems.

Current transmission lines are made up of a copper alloy. Copper is a cheap and good conductor. These wires are set up to be spaced out and exposed to air. This helps decrease the resistance of the copper cables. These cables aren’t fool-proof though, as 5% of electricity is lost during transmission and distribution.

There are various other companies based in the US such as General Cable and Okonite that primarily focus on manufacturing insulated wire and cable for power grids. Other leading global companies such as Prysmian Group and Nexans specialize in major business areas from high voltage data to telecoms, allowing them to service emerging markets and communities across the globe with ease.

III. Areas Impacted

The United States’ prolonged dependence on fossil fuels has jeopardized energy reliability — — the more greenhouse gasses that are emitted from the power sector, the more frequent and severe extreme weather events will become, causing a vicious cycle of electricity disruptions in every region of the country. As a result, natural disasters and severe weather directly caused 96 percent of the total power outages in 2020. According to the 2014 Department of Energy, it estimates that businesses in the United States experience a $150 billion loss annually as a result of power outages and the cost of grid maintenance from 2010 to 2030 is expected to be $2 trillion. Furthermore, the fossil fuel systems specifically designed to function as backstops during power outages are themselves, not always sufficient in safeguarding grid reliability.

Despite the Biden administration’s effort to improve the situation, recent actions suggest the federal government cannot enforce a grid modernization. Along with that, the majority of the US grid system was built from the 1950s-70s, at a time when they were built for large nuclear and gas plants. Now with the US clean-energy business booming, higher electric power cables that could transmit renewable energy are strongly demanded. Electric systems are also an area of shared federal and state jurisdictions which is one of the factors that contribute to the complexity of modernizing the grid and building out additional infrastructures. With our new solution, we are targeting electrical utility companies such as Con Edison and JCP&L (Jersey Central Power & Light).

IV. Intro to solution

We suggest the use of graphene fibers that are electroplated1 with copper (Cu) to create more energy-efficient cables. Graphene is a nanomaterial3 composed of a thin layer of carbon atoms arranged in a hexagonal pattern. Graphene fibers are known for their high conductivity- conducting electrons at nearly the speed of light (100 times faster than any other known materials). Because of this, using graphene alongside copper in the cables will increase the amount of electricity the cables can direct.

The graphene fibers will first be woven into a cylinder to create the shape of a cable. Then, there will be an outer shell made of electroplated1 Cu, surrounding the graphene. The thin layer increases the conductivity of Cu particles and can increase wear.

V. Deep Dive

The price of graphene has been known to be expensive, because of its complicated process. Because of this, the price of graphene in the past has ranged from anywhere between $67,000 to $200,000 per ton. However, Rice University in Texas has found a way to simplify the process of making graphene by applying immense heat to objects, such as a banana peel. The process is called Flash Joule Heating. Because the number of materials graphene can be made of has expanded, it has become more economically feasible to use graphene in a large-scale operation.

The gauge² of the graphene wire will be the same as the current gauge with copper wires. This is because graphene already has a higher conductivity than copper, so even with the same gauge, the amount of electricity running through the cable will be higher. It is possible to increase the wire gauge to allow for even more electric flow; however, if they’re too large and close together, the system can short-circuit.

The copper surrounding the graphene gauge ensures that the cable will not damage under immense stress by maximizing the mechanical toughness. It’s recorded that this combination will have a tensile stretch that is 2.6x greater than the current copper wires used.

VI. Impact

These new cables will replace the pre-existing cables. There are currently 700,000 circuit miles of lines. While this is an ambitious endeavor, already more than 140,000 miles of U.S. transmission lines will need to be replaced by 2050. Increasing the efficiency and durability of the cables, can reduce the need for replacements in the future and save costs from loss of electricity. This directly benefits electricity utilities which in turn benefits the American taxpayer. Furthermore, the use of these cables can help in the transition towards renewable energy by making transmission over larger area stretches less costly. This will allow a solar farm in New Mexico to transport its electricity to Chicago, Illinois. Overall, improvements to the transmission lines will decrease maintenance costs and assist in a greener future.

Definitions:

¹Electroplating — The process of electrolysis to create a thin layer of a certain metal particle over another metal. The setup involves an anode (+), cathode (-), electrolyte, and power supply. The anode and electrolyte vary in composition depending on the material of the metal layer. The composition of the cathode is dependent on the metal in the uncoated material. The electrolysis process includes oxidation and reduction of the molecules. The positively charged molecules in the electrolyte solution are attracted to the negatively charged cathode. At the cathode, the positively charged molecules gain electrons; this process is known as reduction. This causes the molecules to now become negatively charged. The now negatively charged molecules in the electrolyte solution do the opposite. They are attracted to the positively charged anode. At the anode, the negatively charged molecules lose electrons, causing them to dissolve in the solution; this is known as oxidation. The molecules then move back to the anode, repeating this process. As the molecules move back and forth, the anode gradually dissolves to replenish the molecule supply of the electrolyte.

²Gauge — The diameter of a wire

³Nanomaterials — Materials that have at least one dimension; sized between 1 and 100 nm

Sources:

https://sci-hubtw.hkvisa.net/10.1021/acsnano.8b00043

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8751tkBU_Q&t

https://sci-hubtw.hkvisa.net/10.1021/acsenergylett.7b00175

https://sci-hubtw.hkvisa.net/10.1021/acsnano.9b04843

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxhCU_jBiOA

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/05/220526112802.htm

https://news.rice.edu/news/2020/rice-lab-turns-trash-valuable-graphene-flash

https://insideenergy.org/2015/11/06/lost-in-transmission-how-much-electricity-disappears-between-a-power-plant-and-your-plug/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8751tkBU_Q&t