UGM Students Develop Batteries Made from Straw Waste and Graphite

Five students from Universitas Gadjah Mada (UGM) are currently developing batteries made from straw. The straw is utilised as a base material to produce carbon material.

“This finding serves as a preliminary result for the Carbonova Team to continue optimising the materials and battery systems being developed,” said Gilang Romadhon, an electrochemical student at UGM, as reported by the UGM website on Thursday (24/09/2026).

This research is the result of the Carbonova team, part of the Student Creativity Programme for Exact Science Research (PKM-RE), consisting of five students from Banyumas studying at UGM.

Gilang, the leader of the Carbonova Team, stated that the research idea stemmed from a simple perspective on waste. He believes that something considered waste actually possesses the potential to become a solution.

“Through this research, we are attempting to transform waste into valuable materials for the future of energy,” he said.

“We are striving to create an alternative to the limitations of current battery technology by introducing sodium-ion battery anode materials that are not only innovative but also utilise resources that have not been optimally utilised until now,” he added.

In its development, rice straw is used as a base material to produce carbon material, while graphite waste is used to assist in engineering the structure of said material.

From there, the team developed the material through a series of research stages to produce a candidate material for sodium-ion battery anodes, which was subsequently tested for its characteristics and electrochemical response.

The team found that the developed material is capable of producing electrochemical reactions. Gilang noted that his team is simultaneously developing and improving upon previous research that has discussed the potential of hard carbon as an anode material for batteries.