The Ultracapacitor
The near future of energy storage is the ultracapacitor(supercapacitor). Supercapacitors are capacitors that are double layered with a extremely high energy density known as Electric Double Layer Capacitor (EDLC). They can’y replace batteries in most applications however they can in some. They out perform even the best lithium ion cells without degradation over time. Charge an electric car in minutes and cell phone in seconds; this storage medium can be charged and discharged in nearly real-time.
Ultracapacitors are used for burst power. They charge and discharge very rapidly. As an example ultracapacitors are used for regenerative braking in electric vehicles since they can charge very rapidly; while the main storage system is another medium. A battery management system maintains a balance of the load from the various storage cells.
Some good suppliers to keep an eye on are EEStor, Maxwell, Cap-XX and PowerBurst.
Ultracapacitor Resources:
http://www.maxwell.com
http://www.tecategroup.com
http://www.evanscap.com
