Let’s talk tech talk:  A supercapacitor’s voltage profile (voltage vs. time) has two components; Capacitive and Resistive.  The resistive component represents the voltage change that is due to the Equivalent Series Resistance (ESR) and the capacitive component represents the voltage change due to the change in energy within the super capacitor.

Most applications require voltages that are much higher than what is just provided by one supercapacitor cell.. so it becomes necessary to combine a number of super capacitors together in a series to get to the required voltage level.  Putting supercaps in a series increases the ESR of the bank, however if the equivalent series resistance needs to be reduced, additional strings of super capacitors will have to be connected in parallel.  Energy storage, ESR, and temporal requirements are largely determined by a number of parallel connections that you have

The true sizing of a supercapacitor solution has to be done by taking into consideration various factors as voltage, current, and ESR.  Remember… the  smaller the super capacitor module - the better it is for many different applications.

I just got in from Atlanta, Georgia and I leave Sunday for Las Vegas, Nevada to talk and discuss supercaps.  I am going to sooo play some Vegas games.. wish me luck…

Greg

Ultra-capacitors are also called Super-Capacitors – they are the new emerging energy storage technology. Currently they are being used for applications such as DC motor drives, UPS systems, and electric vehicles.

Let’s go back to 1993 when United States President Bill Clinton challenged US automakers to “Think Different”:  President Clinton was surrounded by the CEO’s of General Motors, Chrysler, and Ford and he said that the US Government was going to help build cars with better fuel efficiency.  He said that their research would lead to production of prototypes vehicles capable of up to three times greater fuel efficiency, for example, “radical new concepts such as fuel cells and advanced energy storage systems such as ultracapacitors, to produce more fuel-efficient cars that are affordable, meet or exceed current safety standards and retain the performance and comfort available today.”

TODAY.. Five years after President Clinton’s announcement,  ultracapacitors are becoming more mainstream as engineers are now taking a second look at alternative energy engineering. Ultracapacitors outperform batteries in several key parameters such as power density, cycle life and temperature sensitivity.

Many Utltracapacitor designs are also more efficient and can be manufactured more environmentally safe relative to the metals in lead-acid or nickel-cadmium batteries.  

So… If you are an engineer and would like some assistance integrating an ultracapacitor, please drop me an email.  I will find you the expert in this industry to assist. 

Let’s think different! 

Let's recap Carbon Aerogels - they are solid substances similar to gels but where the internal liquid is replaced with air.  Aerogels are so porous and lightweight that they are sometimes called "solid smoke" or "blue smoke".  Touching aerogel feels like styrofoam.

They are typically 50-99.5% air, yet can hold (theoretically) 500 to 4,000 times their weight in applied force. Aerogel can have surface areas ranging from 250 to 3,000 square meters per gram,  so in theroy, a  cubic inch of aerogel flattened out would have more surface area than an entire football field.   Aerogel has 15 entries  in the Guinness Book of World  Records, including best insulator and lowest density solid.

This technology will improve ultracapacitors by swapping in carbon nanotubes. This greatly increase the surface area of the electrodes and the ability to store energy since the amount of energy ultracaps can hold is related to the surface area and conductivity of electrodes.  So.. since they have a extremely high surface area, carbon aerogels are used to create ultracapacitors with values ranging up to thousands of farads. 

Currently, Carbon Aerogels represent one of the lowest density solids available on the market and can be produced as thin films, powders, monoliths, or micro spheres. The main problem so far has been the cost. Nano materials tend to be a hundred or thousand times more expensive than conventional dielectric materials.

MIT's Lab has been working on the ability to charge electronic items (phones, ipods, gadgets) in minutes and never having to replace a battery again. Can you imagine fully charging your mobile phone in a couple of minutes?   Get ready.. the day is coming...

Greg

I am not sure exactly what this photo has to do with this topic... but for some crazy reason I like it and thought it fit for "website changes" that we are doing.

Ok.. so... we are doing several changes with the website.  We are adding sections and features with more functions for users. I have been in contact with some industry experts on ultracapacitors and supercapacitors.  They have agreed to help with a "Ask The Expert" section on this site.  I think this will help people out there match this ultracap technology to their specific industry need.  We are working out background specifics now. If you have a question or a need for help with an ultracapacitor design, drop us an email and let us know your thoughts.

Some of our links are not working correctly yet and some are broken. I am sorry. We are working on it and plan to have them fixed in the next few days.  You know.. I really do like this photo.  I think it is a great fit for the the "website is changing" message here.  I really like it... and hope you do too!

I am back from my Israel holiday and ready to get back to work.  In two weeks I go to Atlanta, GA and the to Las Vegas, NV to meet with the maker of the Coleman FlashCell Screwdriver.

In your life.. whatever you do... Make it Great!

Greg