Secretary of Energy Endorses Ultracapacitors at Auto Show

At the Washington D.C. Auto Show last week, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu spoke about the Obama administration’s commitment to advancing fuel-efficient vehicles. In his presentation he talked about how lithium ion batteries can’t absorb energy from regenerative braking as quickly and efficiently as ultracapacitors. Because of this, the Department of Energy believes auto manufacturers should develop “hybrid” energy storage systems pairing ultracapacitors with lithium ion batteries to extend battery life and improve fuel economy.

The advantages of  hybrid systems that take advantage of batteries’ energy density and ultracapacitors’ power density to extend battery life, improve cold temperature performance and reduce fuel consumption and emissions are all ideas I wrote about in my previous blog and were also mentioned in previous posts in the PowerOn blog. I am encouraged to hear the Energy Secretary agrees with us and we look forward to helping companies incorporate Maxwell ultracaps into the battery technology we have today.