Researchers from a public university in Texas are developing a power-harvesting material made from woven carbon nanotubes. The new material, called twistron, is a flexible, strong yarn that acts as a supercapacitor. It is composed of thin carbon nanotubes twisted and coiled so there is stretch and conductivity. Twistron could one day be used to harvest energy from human motion for wearable devices since the researchers state the yarn produces over a hundred times higher electrical power per weight when stretched compared to other weavable fibers, as reported in publications. For now the yarn needs to be soaked in electrolytes to operate. Another potential future application is harvesting power from the movement of ocean waves.
