New Hybrid Supercapacitor Will Boost Renewable Energy Usage

The hybrid supercapacitor is the latest breakthrough in battery technology. Some news outlets hail it as the new frontier. In contrast, others use the turtle and hare analogy to compare the capacity of the existing lithium-ion battery to this new hybrid battery.

The hybrid supercapacitor combines the best features of a lithium-ion battery to store energy and a supercapacitor’s ability to deliver power.

How it works                              

Rather than using lithium only, it uses activated carbon as a primary material.  “The hybrid supercapacitors sit halfway between a regular carbon-based supercapacitor and a lithium battery cell. It has one activated carbon electrode, and the other is based on a lithium compound. However, compared with lithium-ion, it has no active lithium and no chemical reaction. The charges are stored statically like a supercapacitor.”

The result is a hybrid battery that can store as much energy as lithium batteries but deliver power as supercapacitors would do. Because it uses activated carbon, it solves the problem of relying too much on lithium and rare materials.

There are also so many advantages to hybrid supercapacitors, and these are some of them:

• It is energy-dense, equal to commercial lithium batteries, with a higher charge and discharge rate, which means it can deliver more sustained power without the threat of an explosion.
• It does not need a complex battery management system, has no thermal management, is more straightforward, and is more reliable.
• It can work from freezing temperature (-50C) up to high temperatures (45C)
• Even if a cell fails, it will keep working, and the battery can last up to 10 years or more.

These outstanding qualities of hybrid batteries are a game-changer for many battery-based applications, including electric vehicles—they will give them more range and power.

Continuous improvements in battery storage and delivery are important to expanding and transitioning to renewable energy and reducing fossil fuel use.

They will increase solar and wind integration into power systems and the grid and firm up renewable energy output.

A new study on supercapacitors explains new findings that make it exceptionally safe and sustainable.

Click on the link below to read the study: