Supercapacitor

We've seen flexible supercapacitor designs before, but how about one that's stretchable? A new discovery by researchers at Duke University and Michigan State University could lead to an excellent stretchable power source for wearable electronics.

Hybrid "power capacitors" that can store as much energy as lithium batteries, but with much higher charging rates and a huge range of safe operating temperatures are already in production, says a small Belgian company that's been testing them.

They charge much faster than lithium batteries, they can put out massive power, and they last thousands of cycles with minimal deterioration. This energy density breakthrough could bring supercapacitors into the EV and consumer tech worlds.

This sweet-looking electric motorcycle has a relatively small, lightweight 9-kWh battery, and yet it boasts a 300-km (186-mi) urban range and superbike-level acceleration thanks to an ultracapacitor hybrid system unlike anything we've seen before.

Lamborghini Sián couples a screaming, naturally aspirated V12 engine with a supercapacitor-based secondary electric system.

Combining the unique strengths of lithium batteries with crazy-fast charging, carbon ultra-capacitors could save a ton of weight and add significant range and power to electric vehicles, according to this fascinating French startup.

Hydrogen-powered vehicles are slowly hitting the streets, but mass producing, distributing and storing hydrogen is still a major roadblock. But new work out of UCLA could help lower the barrier to entry for consumers, with a device that uses sunlight to produce both hydrogen and electricity.

Engineers from Georgia Tech and Korea University have developed a new supercapacitor that’s designed to store more energy for longer – and it’s made out of ordinary paper, meaning it’s flexible enough to power wearable electronics.

A team at Drexel University has used the two-dimensional material MXene to develop a new type of electrode, combining the capacitance of a regular battery with the speed of a supercapacitor, which could lead to devices that recharge in a matter of seconds.

Made from graphene and with a fern-inspired fractal structure, engineers at RMIT University have developed a new prototype electrode that could enable solar harvesting and storage systems that are thin, flexible and have high capacity.

Researchers at the University of Central Florida have created a supercapcitor that can not only be fully-charged in mere seconds, but can go on to be recharged more than 30,000 times without affecting performance or capacity.

Scientists have managed to embed miniature supercapacitors within a microchip, using methods compatible with standard electronics manufacturing. The advance could allow future electronics to marry the benefits of batteries and supercapacitors on the same device.