Supercapacitor-battery hybrids

Supercapacitors can be charged and discharged more rapidly than lithium-ion batteries, making them ideal for many mobility applications. Recent breakthroughs in capacitor design based on curved graphene plates promise to push the energy density for portable supercapacitor-based batteries to 10-15wh/kg—some 50 times that of a lithium-ion battery. Even higher energy densities can be achieved by supplementing the supercapacitor's electrostatic storage with an electrolyte providing chemical-energy storage as well. The hybrid approach, expected to come to market in 2023, could be recharged in as little as 15 seconds and store as much as 60wh/kg, 200 times that of a lithium-ion battery.

This points towards a future of lighter and longer-range EVs, embedded sensors that never require replacement or charging, and mobile devices with extraordinary amounts of computing power.