Energy storage device for storing electrical energy with at least one storage element based on an electroplax

Description

[0001] The invention relates to an energy storage device for storing electrical energy with at least one storage element, wherein at least one storage element is at least one electroplax or at least one electroplax fiber.

[0002] Storage devices for storing electrical energy are used in a wide variety of applications, for example for the intermediate storage of only temporarily available renewable energies, for supplying energy to mobile applications, in electromobility or similar. Common energy storage devices can be, for example, accumulators, batteries or similar. In accumulators, for example, electrical energy is converted into chemical energy during electrical charging. In return, to operate a consumer device, i.e. during discharging, stored chemical energy is converted into electrical energy. Various materials or combinations of materials are used to manufacture an accumulator, such as lead, lithium-ion, nickel-metal hydride or similar, whereby the material or combination of materials used can determine the nominal voltage of the accumulator.

[0003] The materials required for battery production are usually substances such as lithium, which are only found in small quantities in the Earth's crust and are therefore expensive to extract and cause high environmental impacts. In particular, the limited availability and increasing demand for these materials can lead to very high prices on the global market. Furthermore, they can also be toxic materials or components that are difficult to recycle or dispose of, such as lead or cadmium.

[0004] From the Wikipedia article "Electric organ (biology)" of July 28, 2018 (2018-07-28), XP055637615, Internet, Found on the Internet: URL: https: / / en.wikipedia.org / w / index.php?title=Electric_organ_(biology)&oldid=85239941 6 [found on October 30, 2019], electrical organs are described in some fish species. These organs are used by the fish to generate electric fields. These organs are nerve or muscle tissue. The electrical discharges from this organ are used for communication, navigation, or even defense.

[0005] The article "Electric Fish: Signal Generation & Reception" by Otto Schlappal et al., December 31, 2008 (2008-12-31), pages 1-21, XP055637715, TU Darmstadt, (found online: URL: https: / / docplayer.org / 18430663-Elektrische-fische-signalerzeugung-rezeption.html [found on 2019-10-30]) states that electric fish are capable of generating electrical charges through specially developed organs called electroplaxes. These can generate considerable voltages and currents and can therefore be used for defense or hunting. The overall performance of the electroplaxes is determined by their structure. A serial arrangement adds up the potentials of the individual electrocytes, while a parallel circuit increases the resulting current, thus determining the current strength.The interconnection of the individual electrocytes is called electroplax and usually consists of electrocytes stacked serially on top of each other, several of which are connected in parallel.

[0006] Furthermore, reference is made to the following publications: ALEXANDER MAURO: "The Role of the Voltaic Pile in the Galvani-Volta Controversy Concerning Animal vs. Metallic Electricity", JOURNAL OF THE HISTORY OF MEDICINE AND ALLIED SCIENCES, Volume XXIV, No. 2, January 1, 1969 (1969-01-01), pages 140-150, XP055637442 ISSN:0022-5045, DOI: 10.1093 / jhmas / XXIV.2.140 and HAO SUN ET AL: "Electrochemical Capacitors with High Output Voltages that Mimic Electric Eels", ADVANCED MATERIALS, Volume 28, No. 10, January 14, 2016 (2016-01-14), page 2070-2076, XP055637521, DE ISSN:0935-9648, DOI: 10.1002 / adma.201505742.

[0007] Furthermore, reference is made to US 2016 / 145669 A1 and US 2014 / 104751 A1.

[0008] Finally, the article by Tanaka et al. "An electric generator using living torpedo electric organs controlled by fluid pressure-based alternative nervous systems" Scientific Reports, Vol. 6, No. 1, 1 September 2016 (2016-09-01), DOI: 10.1038 / srep25899, reveals the use of electroplaxes as a technical energy storage device.

[0009] The invention is based on the object of proposing a storage device for storing electrical energy in which the use of toxic and expensive materials can be dispensed with.

[0010] This object is achieved by an energy storage device having the features of patent claim 1. Further developments and advantageous embodiments are specified in the subclaims.

[0011] The invention relates to an energy storage device for storing electrical energy with at least one storage element, wherein at least one storage element is at least one electroplax or an electroplax fiber, wherein it is essential to the invention that the energy storage device has at least one container, that an electrically non-conductive fluid is accommodated in the container, that the electroplax and / or the electroplax fibers are arranged at least partially in the container, that the electroplax and / or the electroplax fibers are at least partially, in particular completely, surrounded by the fluid, that the fluid has preservative properties, that the fluid consists at least partially of an alcohol, in particular of ethanol, that the electroplax or the electroplax fibers are artificially produced by cultivation from cell cultures,that the container is made of a non-electrically conductive material, and that the container has at least two contact areas on its outer wall, each contact area being electrically conductively connected to one of the electrical poles of at least one electroplax and / or electroplax fiber.

[0012] The energy storage device can have at least one storage element, preferably several storage elements. The storage elements are electroplaxes. An electroplax occurs naturally, for example, in electric eels or electric rays. Here, voltages of 860 V at 1 A current can be achieved. An electroplax has muscle fibers, i.e. electroplax fibers, whereby the muscle tissue is not designed for contraction, but for the generation, storage and release of high electrical voltages. The electrical energy is stored in the fiber walls of the electroplax. To increase the storage capacity, the wall of an electroplax fiber has a wart-like, i.e. papillose structure on one side, while the other side of the electroplax fiber is smooth. The individual electroplax fibers are arranged in series, i.e. in the form of a series circuit, in order to achieve high voltage values.

[0013] An electroplax, or an electroplax fiber of an electroplax, has a positive and a negative pole. The use of electroplaxes thus enables the storage of electrical energy without the use of scarce and therefore costly metals or toxic substances. The electrical poles allow the electroplaxes, or electroplax fibers, to make electrical contact with each other.

[0014] The energy storage device has at least one container, in which an electrically non-conductive fluid is accommodated, the electroplaxes and / or the electroplax fibers are arranged at least partially in the container, and the electroplaxes and / or the electroplax fibers are at least partially, in particular completely, surrounded by the fluid. The energy storage device has a container in which an electrically non-conductive liquid is located. The electroplaxes, preferably the electroplaxes or the electroplax fibers connected in series and parallel, are arranged in this liquid. In particular, the liquid has preservative properties for organic materials. The liquid prevents the organic electroplaxes from becoming unusable due to a decomposition process.

[0015] The fluid has preservative properties. In particular, the fluid has preservative properties toward the organic material of the electroplax. This prevents the organic material from becoming inoperable through natural decomposition processes.

[0016] The fluid consists at least partially of an alcohol, in particular ethanol. The non-electrically conductive fluid can be ethanol or a liquid mixture containing ethanol. Ethanol is non-electrically conductive and has preservative properties. Furthermore, ethanol is available in a variety of purity levels, so that a purity level suitable for the application is commercially available.

[0017] The electroplax and / or the electroplax fibers are artificially produced. The muscle tissue of the electroplax can be produced artificially on a laboratory scale or industrially. For example, the electroplax can be grown from cell cultures. 3D printing or similar processes can also be used.

[0018] The container is made of a non-electrically conductive material. To prevent the series and parallel circuits of the electroplaxes from short-circuiting through the container, it is made of an electrically non-conductive material, specifically plastic.

[0019] The container has at least two contact areas on its outer wall, each contact area being electrically connected to one of the electrical poles of at least one electroplax and / or electroplax fiber. The housing has contact areas on its outer wall, for example, for contacting a load. The contact areas are each connected to a negative or a positive pole of one or more electroplax fibers or electroplaxes. Thus, the contact areas represent the negative and positive poles of the energy storage device. For example, the contact areas can be arranged on opposite sides of the outer wall of the housing.

[0020] In a structural development of the invention, the energy storage device comprises at least two electroplaxes or electroplax fibers connected in series. Many electrical consumers require a higher electrical voltage for operation than can be supplied by a single electroplax. To be able to supply a higher electrical voltage, a series circuit can be constructed from several electroplaxes or electroplax fibers. The electroplaxes are connected in series by connecting the positive pole of one electroplax or electroplax fiber to the negative pole of another electroplax or electroplax fiber. The more electroplaxes connected in series, the higher the achievable electrical voltage.

[0021] In a structural development of the invention, the energy storage device comprises at least two electroplaxes or electroplax fibers connected in parallel. To achieve higher currents, several electroplaxes or electroplax fibers can be connected in parallel. In particular, series circuits consisting of several electroplaxes can be connected in parallel to achieve higher voltages and currents.

[0022] In one embodiment of the invention, the electroplaxes and / or the electroplax fibers are connected to each other via fabric fibers. The parallel connection of electroplaxes or the series connection of electroplaxes or the electroplax fibers can be achieved via fabric fibers of the electroplaxes. In particular, the fibers of the electroplaxes can connect themselves, thus enabling easy contact between the individual electroplaxes.

[0023] In a method for producing an energy storage device with at least one storage element, wherein at least one storage element is at least one electroplax and / or at least one electroplax fiber, it is provided that electroplax fibers and / or electroplaxes are connected in series. To produce an energy storage device, electroplaxes and / or electroplax fibers can be taken from an electric fish, for example from an electric eel or an electric ray, and connected to one another. In particular, a series connection of the electroplax fibers and / or the electroplaxes can be produced. Furthermore, it is possible for the electroplax fibers and / or the electroplaxes to be produced artificially, for example using a 3D printing process.

[0024] In this process, the electroplax fibers are produced using a 3D printing process. The electroplax fibers and / or the electroplaxes can be manufactured using 3D printing. The printed electroplax fibers can be connected in series or parallel to achieve higher voltages and currents. The electrical energy is stored in the fiber walls of the electroplaxes. 3D printing provides a particularly cost-effective method for producing an energy storage device.

[0025] In this process, the information required for the 3D printing process, particularly genetic information, is obtained through a blood sample. By taking a blood sample from an electric fish, such as an electric eel, genetic information from the electric fish can be obtained. From this genetic information, information for the 3D printing process can be obtained, enabling the electroplaxes or electroplax fibers to be produced using a 3D printing process.

[0026] The invention is further explained below using an exemplary embodiment illustrated in the drawing. The schematic representations show: Figure 1: an electroplax fiber with positive and negative poles; Figure 2: a series connection of two electroplax fibers; and Figure 3: a series connection of electroplax fibers in a container.

[0027] In Figure 1An electroplax fiber 1 with a negative pole 2 and a positive pole 3 is shown. One side 4 of the electroplax fiber is wart-shaped, i.e., papillose, while the opposite side 5 is smooth.

[0028] In Figure 2 is a series connection of two electroplax fibers 1 according to Figure 1 By connecting two electroplax fibers in series, the electrical voltage to be delivered can be increased.

[0029] In Figure 3 is a series connection of electroplax fibers according to Figure 1 in a container 6. The container 6 is filled with a non-conductive liquid 7, in particular ethanol. The electroplaxes 1 are arranged in the liquid 7, whereby the electroplaxes 1 are preserved by the liquid.

[0030] All features mentioned in the above description and in the claims can be combined in any desired manner with the features of the independent claim. The disclosure of the invention is therefore not limited to the described or claimed feature combinations; rather, all feature combinations that are meaningful within the scope of the invention are to be considered disclosed.

Claims

1. Energy storage device for storage of electrical energy comprising at least one storage element, wherein at least one storage element comprises at least one electroplax (1) or at least one electroplax fibre, characterized in that the energy storage device has at least one container (6), that an electrically non-conducting fluid (7) is accommodated in the container (6), that the electroplax (1) and / or the electroplax fibres are arranged in the container (6) at least in sections, that the electroplax (1) and / or the electroplax fibres are surrounded by a fluid (7) at least in sections, in particular completely, that the fluid (7) has preserving properties, that the fluid (7) consists at least partially of an alcohol, in particular of ethanol, that the electroplax (1) or the electroplax fibres are produced artificially by cultivation from cell cultures, that the container (6) is manufactured from a non-electrically conductive material and that the container (6) has at least two contact regions on its outer wall wherein each contact region is connected in an electrically conductive manner to one of the electric poles of at least one electroplax (1) and / or an electroplax fibre.

2. Energy storage device according to Claim 1, characterized in that the energy storage device comprises at least two electroplax (1) and / or electroplax fibres connected in series.

3. Energy storage device according to Claim 1, characterized in that the energy storage device comprises at least two electroplax (1) connected in parallel or at least two electroplax fibres connected in parallel.

4. Energy storage device according to one of Claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the electroplax (1) or the electroplax fibres are connected to one another via tissue fibres.