The battery "sewn" into the clothing is a good energy storage device. Scientists at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) have developed a technical method for producing "smart fabrics" by embedding supercapacitor energy storage devices in them. Its developers say it could be easily integrated with solar cells or used to power wearable technology.

More and more research and development of wearable devices, which can be used to generate electricity although the clothing can not be commercialized for the time being, but its concept has been more mature.

This laser printing technique demonstrated by the scientists can embed graphene supercapacitors directly into textiles, creating a fabric that can store energy and integrate with solar cells for smart fabric applications.

The technique is described in Scientific Reports, It is called "Large-scale waterproofand stretchable textil-integrated laser-print"
graphene energy storage, the laser printing technology can make a 10x10cm fabric in just 3 minutes, the fabric waterproof and stretchable up to 200%, per 1-2cm energy density of 6.73MWh. The researchers also demonstrated a proof of concept for integrating the fabric with a solar cell and achieving stable performance within 20 days.

Litty Thekkakara, first author of the paper, said: "The fabric completed by graphene-based supercapacitors is not only fully washable, but can also store the energy needed to power smart clothing, and can be mass-produced in minutes." "By addressing the challenges of e-textiles related to energy storage, we hope to power the next generation of wearable technology and smart clothing."