Challenges and opportunities for energy storage technologies

Energy storage and effective use of power when needed are widely discussed in today's research world. Due to the increasing population and vast extent of industrialization, more power has to be generated to meet people's energy demands. But over the past years, excessive burning of fossil fuels has damaged the ozone layer and is responsible for global warming. Various researches are conducted to develop green technology for power storage with zero carbon emissions and sustainable nature. The battery storage system has played a significant role in changing the face of energy storage. Initially, lithium-ion batteries had taken over the entire electronic market after being introduced by Sony first in 1990. The next level of technological advancements in batteries came when various electropositive metals were coupled with sulfur. Supercapacitors can store more energy than capacitors and deliver more power outputs than batteries; hence, they are suitable for building a bridge between capacitors and batteries. The introduction of fuel cells and their use in electric vehicles has the potential to transform the automobile industry. But the widespread use of hydrogen-powered fuel cells has some shortcomings and face challenges that deal with their storage generation and economic aspects. This chapter provides a deep insight into the challenges and measures to improve energy storage technologies such as batteries and supercapacitors utilizing sulfur and selenides as electrode components. This chapter also aims to provide insight into the various challenges faced during hydrogen storage in fuel cells and 3D printing technologies for energy storage. It presents an elaborative discussion on the techniques adopted to overcome the difficulties and pave the path of revolution in the electric vehicle industry.