A new IDTechEx report looks at how supercapacitors have started to replace 10% of lithium-ion batteries and will “help kill lead-acid.” With the technology, company researchers say urban buses and light trains could charge in 20 s and escape eye-watering battery replacement costs.
According to “Supercapacitor Markets, Technology Roadmap, Opportunities 2021-2041,” lithium-ion batteries were selling at the billions of dollars a year level when they hit 100 W·h/kg. Aowei and Toomen now sell supercapacitors with that compactness, Nippon Chemicon and others are next. Compared to batteries, IDTechEx says that supercapacitors are safer, tolerate overcharge, and avoid complex battery management systems. Most are now nonflammable, nontoxic, incur no costly misery of controlled disposal, provide lowest total cost of ownership, waste 14% less electricity, and grab twice the regenerative energy from crane or truck. Useful life is four-times better, cycle life and power density tenfold, and four times less kW·h is needed for intense power cycling—meaning deep discharge and not battery “sipping.”
Many breakthroughs are coming, including from Geely, which is putting large peak-shaving supercapacitors in hybrid cars from 2021. Another is in new formats impractical with batteries, such as in a recent Lamborghini Terzo Millennio self-healing car concept, developed in partnership with Massachusetts Institute of Technology, with supercapacitor bodywork. Others are developing wearable sensor films with supercapacitor backing that stretches to fit and can be cut to size. The market potential is also in the billions of dollars.
The researchers claim that improved supercapacitors and their variants will enable huge opportunities in minigrids, trains, trams, trucks, heavy off-road vehicles, tiny uninterruptable power supplies for IOT nodes using energy harvesting, 1 MW·h giants for hospitals, and in data centers. Already they drive brain scanners, lift Maglev trains, power rail and laser guns, go into deep space, and provide the only trustworthy backup for wind-turbine blade adjustment, vehicle brakes, aircraft, and bus doors. They variously operate well from -40°C to +150°C, their typical 85°C operating temperature meaning less or no cooling compared to batteries.
The report covers all the markets matched to new technology roadmaps, forecasting 20 years ahead by application and geography, and quantifying market disruptions ahead. It summarizes market forecasts by eight application sectors—cars, bus/truck, off-road, rail, energy, aerospace/military, electronics, marine/other, lists top ten manufacturers in sales order and manufacturer numbers by region. Experts review all 80 supercapacitor manufacturers, including companies with large sales or breakthrough products such as Evans Capacitor.
IDTechEx is hosting a free webinar on the topic of supercapacitors, presented by Chairman Dr. Peter Harrop, will be broadcast three times on September 3rd (2am, 10am, and 5pm BST). For more information on the report, visit www.IDTechEx.com/SuperCaps.
