Recent decades have seen an ever-growing focus on renewable energy sources such as wind and solar energy, as a response to the global decarbonization goals. Additionally, the progression of human civilization and technological advancements such as the expansion of data centers and AI growth mean that we have seen perhaps the highest demand for electricity in all human history.

The combination of these factors means that energy storage technologies such as batteries, capacitors and fuel cells have become an essential, if not unexpected, puzzle piece to modern energy systems. As demand for higher performance and lower environmental impact grows, laboratories and manufacturers continue to develop advanced electrode and catalyst materials that push the limits of energy storage.

Carbon Nanomaterials in Energy Storage Applications

Carbon-based nanomaterials, including activated carbon, carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and graphene, are frequently explored as part of electrode compositions. This is due to their favorable and exciting properties:

• high specific surface area
• excellent electrical conductivity
• strong mechanical stability

These characteristics make them well suited for applications such as lithium-ion batteries, electrochemical double-layer capacitors (supercapacitors) and proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells.

In many cases, these materials are incorporated into electrode formulations or catalyst inks, where uniform dispersion is essential to achieving consistent electrochemical performance.

In practice, though, performance limitations often emerge not because of material choice, but because of how those materials are processed. Aggregation, poor dispersion and inconsistent processing can quietly undermine efficiency, scalability and sustainability long before an energy storage device reaches production.

The Challenge of Aggregation During Processing

Despite their advantages, carbon nanomaterials present a significant processing challenge: a strong tendency to aggregate during formulation and manufacturing, which can lead to reduced effective surface area and inconsistent device performance. Moreover, aggregation is often accompanied by additional issues such as long processing times, low process efficiency, contamination risks and overall limited scalability.

These limitations are especially critical during scale-up from laboratory-scale development to pilot scale, where process inefficiencies become more difficult and more costly to correct.

Why Processing Efficiency Matters

When dispersion is not well controlled, manufacturers may attempt to compensate by:

• increasing catalyst loading
• extending processing times
• repeating processing steps

These approaches increase material usage, energy consumption and waste generation, introducing inefficiencies that directly impact cost, scalability and sustainability.

From this perspective, aggregation is not only a performance limitation, but also a process efficiency issue with broader environmental and economic implications.

The Role of Controlled High-Shear Processing

Effective dispersion of carbon nanomaterials requires more than simple mixing. Controlled, reproducible shear forces are necessary to de-agglomerate particles while maintaining material integrity and minimizing contamination.

Microfluidizer® technology addresses this need by applying precisely defined high-shear forces that:

• break down agglomerates
• produce homogeneous dispersions
• support repeatability and process control
• enable linear scale-up from R&D to pilot and production volumes

This approach allows materials to perform as intended without requiring changes to their chemical composition.

Application Examples from Energy Storage Workflows

Case Study 1: Fuel Cell Catalyst Inks

In this study, a dispersion of platinum supported on activated carbon was treated using high-shear processing. This led to significantly reduced particle sizes, a narrow particle size distribution and homogeneous dispersion.

Case Study 2: CNT Dispersions for Batteries and Supercapacitors

Controlled high-shear processing reduced CNT agglomerate size, improving uniformity and lowering viscosity, making these dispersions more suitable for scalable manufacturing processes.

Implications for Scale-Up and Sustainability of Storage Materials

Many energy storage materials perform well at bench scale but encounter challenges during scale-up. Inconsistent dispersion, increased waste and process instability often limit the transition to pilot or production scales.

By improving dispersion efficiency early in the workflow, laboratories and manufacturers can:

• reduce material waste
• improve batch-to-batch reproducibility
• minimize contamination
• support more sustainable manufacturing practices

In this context, process efficiency becomes a foundational element of both performance and sustainability.

Click here to explore real-world examples of dispersion control during scale-up.