New supercapacitor energy storage up to 5 to 7 times the capacity of conventional capacitors

New energy storage technology can surpass current batteries in terms of battery capacity and lifetime.

A startup called Nanotune in California claims that its use of supercapacitor energy storage technology in electric vehicles can make the overall cost of electric vehicles more economical and expand its range of applications. The Mountain View company has developed a new way to make electrodes that can make a supercapacitor with seven times the energy storage capacity of a conventional supercapacitor.

Although conventional supercapacitors have the advantage of being able to charge and discharge quickly, and can be charged and discharged hundreds of times without losing energy, conventional capacitors cannot replace conventional batteries because they are too expensive and the storage capacity is too small.

However, relying on its new technology, Nanotune, which has introduced $3 million in investment from venture capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson, claims that its newly developed supercapacitors are comparable in energy storage capacity to traditional batteries and will soon surpass Traditional battery. Using traditional electrolytes, the company has proven that its supercapacitors can achieve 20 watt-hours of energy per kilogram, which is a significant improvement over traditional supercapacitors (conventional supercapacitors store about 5 watt-hours per kilogram). If a more expensive new electrolyte is used, the company's supercapacitors can even store up to 35 watt-hours per kilogram. Kuan-Tsae Huang, CEO of Nanotune, said: By the end of this year, the company hopes to further improve its energy storage performance and double its energy storage capacity. When it reaches 40 watt-hours per kilogram, this supercapacitor can replace the batteries used in some hybrid vehicles.

In recent months, some startups have announced that they are using nanotechnology to improve supercapacitors. They all hope to solve the major problems facing the development of electric vehicles today through the innovation of battery technology, that is, the cost of the battery is too high and the energy storage capacity is limited. For example, in order to enable consumers to afford the price of the Leaf electric car they produce, Nissan has greatly reduced the size and capacity of the battery pack, resulting in the battery pack that the electric car can only support the electric car running 73 miles. .