Advancing the Supercapacitor Materials and Technology Frontier for Improving Power Quality

Electrochemical supercapacitors are emerging as devices of significant importance due to their superior characteristics unmatched by any other charge storage device. These devices are being developed in an effort to realize the objective of energy sustainability. The future market for batteries and supercapacitor storage systems is expected to grow to $8 billion in 2017. The demand for supercapacitors is predicted to be most extensive in frequency regulation applications, as they are characterized by fast discharge rates and low maintenance. The primary purpose behind the continuing effort in supercapacitor devices is the need to bridge the gap between conventional capacitors and batteries with regards to energy or power performance. There is a need for greater energy densities and reduction in cost, for supercapacitors to be commercially viable for large-scale applications.