Power
Supercapacitors: Will
they replace batteries?
A supercapacitor along with conventional battery can be a better electrical
energy storage device than the battery alone
 Dr D.B. Talange
D
elivery of electrical power
is becoming an increasingly
complex task for engineers
and policy makers alike. The electricity
systems are poised to change in order
to accommodate increasing levels of
distributed storage and utilisation.
These complexities are being recog-
nised internationally for alternating-
current systems. But there is need
to look beyond it as most consumer
applications use direct-current supply
and hence the smart energy delivery
system concept is required to be ex-
tended to low- and medium-power
direct-current systems.
Electrical energy storage (EES)
refers to the process of converting
electrical energy from a power source
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into an electrical or non-electrical form
that can be stored for converting back
into electrical energy as per require-
ment. This process enables electricity
to be produced at times of either low
demand, low generation cost or from
intermittent energy sources, and used
at times of high demand, high gen-
eration cost or unavailability of other
generation means.
Smart EES has numerous applica-
tions in portable devices, transport
vehicles, stationary energy resources,
etc. EES becomes more important in
situations where we produce large
amount of electricity from time-
dependant energy sources like wind
and solar. Smart EES has to consider
generation, transmission/distribu-
tion, energy management system and
renewable energy. Research should
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focus on energy storage devices, par-
ticularly pulse power devices such as
supercapacitors.
Types of smart EES
The various smart EES systems can
be categorised based on their function
and form. High-power, low-energy
devices can be categorised by func-
tion, whereas high-energy, low-power
systems can be categorised by form.
Although electricity is not easy to store
cheaply, it can be easily stored in other
forms and converted back into electric-
ity when needed.
Storage technologies for electricity
can also be classified by the form of
storage:
Electrical energy storage. Elec-
trostatic energy storage includes
capacitors and supercapacitors, and
magnetic/current energy storage
includes superconducting magnetic
energy storage.
Mechanical energy storage. Ki-
netic energy storage includes fly-
wheel-pumped hydroelectric storage,
compressed-air energy storage and
potential energy storage systems.
Chemical energy storage. Chemi-
cal energy is stored in batteries such
as lead-acid batteries, nickel-cadmium
(NiCd) batteries, sodium sulfur (NaS)
batteries, sodium nickel chloride bat-
teries, lithium-ion batteries and fuel
cells.
Thermal energy storage. Low- or
high-temperature energy is stored
through devices like solar fuels.
Of these, chemical energy storage
devices are the most suitable for DC
power storage. Supercapacitors make
 Power
Fig. 1: Regon’s plot showing energy density vs power density of various energy storage devices
Some leading manufacturers
of supercapacitors
 NEC, Japan (for memory backups)
 Panasonic, Japan (for memory backups)
 Maxwell Technologies, USA
 EPCOS, Germany
 Evans Capacitor, USA (for automobiles)
 ELNA, USA (for automobiles)
 Cooperet, USA (for automobiles)
 Kold Ban International, Australia
 CAP-XX, Australia
 Ness Capacitor, Korea
 Tavrima, Canada
 ESMA, Russia (for power quality applications)
use of chemical energy for charge stor-
age based on electrostatic principle,
which makes them complex to develop
and use.
Supercapacitors: Ideal for
short-duration high-power
applications
Supercapacitors, also called ultra-
capacitors or electrochemical double-
layer capacitors, have been the subject
of focused R&D efforts for the past two
decades. This has been facilitated by
remarkable advances in material sci-
ence and nanotechnology that allow
construction of stacks of thin intercon-
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nected electrochemical cells with
very high surface-area electrodes
which are generally made up of
activated carbon, and low equiva-
lent series resistors (ESRs). These
devices can be manufactured
with capacitance values of several
hundred farads and even several
thousand farads. Such values can-
not be imagined in conventional
capacitors. This translates into a
new paradigm in energy storage,
especially for short-duration, high-
power applications. Depending
on their design and construction,
the specific power of supercapacitors
can be ten to 100 times higher than of
a battery.
Supercapacitors are mainly used
for pulse power supply requirements.
When you start the engine of an auto-
matic-start vehicle, the starter motor
draws a very large current from the
lead-acid battery, which reduces the
life of the battery. This high current
requirement is due to high starting
current of the starter motor. Such a
high current is not required except
for starting, which unnecessarily in-
creases the battery size requirement.
A supercapaitor can fulfil the require-
Supercapacitors: Advantages
& disadvantages
Advantages
1. High power and moderate energy
density
2. Very fast charging and discharging
3. Very high capacitance
4. Linear charging and discharging (up to
0V)
5. State of charge present is a direct
function of the output voltage
6. Very long shelf and working life
(theoretically no limit!)
7. Direct short circuit is not fatal
8. Small over-charging is not a problem
9. Today, it is available up to 5000F,
220V
10. Series current-limiting resistor is not
required as it accept charges as much
as you supply
Disadvantages
1. Each cell can give 1V to 2.5V (limit
due to electrolyte stability)
2. High cost
3. Very fast discharging
4. Low energy density
5. Peak power is limited by equivalent
series resistance (ESR)
6. Time constant is small (1-2 second
only)
7. Rapid discharge at severe rate
increases the temparature
8. Complete discharge takes a few hours
9. Operating temperature is up to 65
degrees
10. It loses 2 per cent energy per day in
self-discharge
ment of high starting current, thereby
reducing the load on the battery,
increasing its life and reducing the
battery size.
Leading car manufacturers such
as Volvo, Opel, Rover, Renaults,
Volkswagen and Daimler-Chysler
are using supercapacitors in their
electric vehicles and electric hybrid
vehicles. Regon’s plot in Fig. 1 shows
how supercapacitors (Boostcap by
Maxwell) and lithium-ion batteries are
approaching top right of the graph. If
this combination achieves power and
energy density of the internal com-
bustion engine, your dependency on
the IC engine and hence fossil fuels
will reduce. Various electrical energy
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 Power

Fig. 4: Construction of a supercapacitor

4. Use of different electrolyte and

self-discharge

Application areas
1. Quick-charge applications—
charging in seconds and discharging
in minutes (required for power tools
and toys)
Fig. 2: Power flow in a typical electric vehicle with supercapacitor 2. Electric vehicles (starting/regen-
erative braking)
power flow in typi- 3. At sharp turns on electric trac-
cal electrical vehi- tion
cles. The combina- 4. Short-term support for uninter-
tion of a primary rupted power system with generator
energy source and backup
an ultracapacitor 5. Solar array (energy-rich, poor
takes care of the power source)
average power and 6. Supporting power buses while
peak power de- switching
mand, respectively. 7. Computer memory backups—
Fig. 3 shows the low-current, long-duration require-
concept car having ments
the Li-ion battery
pack with ultraca- Summing up
Fig. 3: Concept car using Li-ion battery pack with ultracapacitor module pacitor. The Li-ion Energy storage is a persistent prob-
battery will replace lem in electrical systems. There are
the conventional many energy storage systems, but
Li-ion Battery vs lead-acid battery electrical energy can be stored only
Electrochemical or Supercapacitor in the near future. in two fundamentally different ways:
Characteristic State-of-the-art Electrochemical Considering vari- battery and capacitor. Scientists and
Lithium-ion battery capacitor ous parameters of engineers are looking for devices
Charge time 3-5 minutes 1 second the supercapacitor, beyond these.
Discharge time 3-5 minutes 1 second it will be the next- It has been found that a superca-
Cycle life <5000 @ 1C rate >500,000 generation EES de- pacitor along with conventional bat-
Specific energy (Wh/kg) 50-100 5 vice. tery can be a better electrical energy
Specific power (kW/kg) 1-2 5-10 storage device than the battery alone.
Design Though the supercapacitor technol-
Cycle efficiency (per cent) <50% to >90% <75% to >95%
parameters ogy is at present in infancy, it stands
Cost/Wh $0.5-1/Wh $10-20/Wh
Cost/kW $50-150/kW $15-30/kW 1. Trade-off be- a bright chance of becoming the next-
tween energy and generation electrical energy storage
power device. 
storage devices are shown in Regon’s 2. Time constant (ESR and capaci-
plot of power density versus energy tance value) The author is a professor in Electrical Engineering
density. 3. Output voltage and output cur- Department of Government College of Engineer-
Fig. 2 shows the block diagram of rent ing, Pune

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