Ultra Capacitors
This technology is being referred to as "game changing" energy-storage technology, according to patent documents, is to "replace the electrochemical battery" in almost every application, from hybrid-electric and pure-electric vehicles to laptop computers to utility-scale electricity storage.
This energy storage device is a kind of battery, based on barium-titanate powders. They will dramatically outperform the best lithium-ion batteries on the market in terms of energy density, price, charge time and safety. Pound for pound, it will also pack 10 times the punch of lead-acid batteries at half the cost and without the need for toxic materials or chemicals, according to reports. Much like capacitors, ultracapacitors store energy in an electrical field between two closely spaced conductors, or plates. When voltage is applied, an electric charge builds up on each plate. Ultracapacitors have many advantages over traditional electrochemical batteries. Unlike batteries, "ultracaps" can completely absorb and release a charge at high rates and in a virtually endless cycle with little degradation.
This is why ultracapacitors, with their ability to release quick jolts of electricity and to absorb this energy just as fast, are ideal today as a complement to batteries or fuel cells in electric-drive vehicles. The power burst that ultracaps provide can assist with stop-start acceleration, and the energy is more efficiently recaptured through regenerative braking.
It is claimed that they have a specific energy of about 280 watt hours per kilogram, compared with around 120 watt hours per kilogram for lithium-ion and 32 watt hours per kilogram for lead-acid gel batteries. This leads to possibilities for many applications.
In a traditional ultracap, that permittivity is given a rating of 20 to 30, while there are claim that 18,500 or more is possible with next generation Ultracapacitors.
If these figures can be realised then Ultracapacitors may offer an energy storage potential to rival fuel cells or even hydrocarbon fuels.
This technology has been promised to enter the market later this year so watch this space!
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