From their initial observation by General Electric engineers and subsequently commercialization by Standard Oil, ultracapacitors have grown into a multi-million industry.  With their green energy properties, which include quick charging and temperature stability, these battery alternatives have high potential to replace the conventional batteries found in electric cars and their hybrid cousins.

New Development

On a new development, researchers at the University of Texas have developed graphene to boost the energy storage capacity of ultracapacitors.  Supposedly, the carbon-based nanomaterial will double the present maximum capacity of these battery alternatives.

Graphene is described as a planar sheet of carbon atoms, which are one-atom thick and densely condensed in a benzene ring structure.  When you see images of graphene, you will think of chicken wire or a honeycomb lattice albeit in atom sizes.

The ability of graphene to store large amounts of energy lies in its large size, atomically speaking.  With each gram of graphene equivalent to one large football field, it is no wonder that the potential for double amounts of stored energy is possible.  It will take more research on the matter but it is an exciting development, nonetheless.

Good News

Without going into the technical side, the green energy movement will benefit from the new development.  With improved storage capacity, more renewable energy technologies like wind and solar power installations can be adopted.  This is because the main challenge facing the sector is the ability, or lack thereof, of present batteries and their alternatives to store larger amounts of energy to counteract the times when the power of the wind and sun cannot be harnessed (i.e., bad weather conditions), which may be solved with graphene ultracapacitors.

The transportation sector including buses, trams, and trains will have access to ultracapacitors that have larger energy storage on the same charging time.  In turn, there will be lesser energy consumption and hopefully, lesser financial costs.  Some countries like China has been adopting the technology and many more are expected to follow when greater environmental awareness happens.

And of course, ordinary consumers of electric cars and their hybrid counterparts will benefit, too.  After all, it will become easier to travel farther with less charging time.  Say, you can travel 100 miles on a fully-charged electric car.  With graphene ultracapacitors, you might be able to travel double that distance.

Consumers of products like portable electronics (i.e., digital cameras, cellphones, and portable media players), toys (i.e., model aircrafts and automobiles) as well as medical devices (i.e., pacemakers) will appreciate the doubled storage capacity.  Basically, consumers will have access to highly portable electronics that gives back to the environment more than it takes.

In other words, this new technology has the potential to significantly improve the efficiency and performance of all things that utilize ultracapacitors.  This is achieved through enhanced power delivery and longer serviceable lives of the ultracapacitors.

Of course, the strides made in the improvement of conventional batteries must not be discounted.  However, between ultracapacitors and batteries, a green-minded individual will opt for the former if only for their high life cycle, absence of chemical reactions, and energy efficiency.