April 19th, 2007 - A few days ago.. Professor Joel E. Schindall  told the Le Figaro newspaper that MIT's works on ultra capacitors may be demonstrated within the next few months.  In late 2005.. MIT's LEES (Electromagnetic and Electronic Systems) were working on increasing the storage capacity of ultracapacitors.

Ultra-capacitors are capacitor based energy storage cells that provide a quick and massive bursts of instant energy. They are used in fuel-cell vehicles to provide an extra burst for accelerating into traffic and climbing hills. Currently they will need to be larger than a battery to hold the same charge.

Via their website: MIT's LEES  Lab overcame the energy limitation by using vertically aligned, single-wall carbon nanotubes -- one thirty-thousandth the diameter of a human hair and 100,000 times as long as they are wide. It would reportedly permit ultracapacitors to give a car a 160 km range on electric power, and reduce energy storage units by two thirds in weight and 75% in size by comparison with existing nickel metal hydride units as used by Toyota’s Prius.