Ultracapacitors: What’s so good about ‘em anyway?

Ultracapacitors are not exactly a household word or a household item today (although alternative energy initiatives and a general energy and green focus are not hurting that aspiration) but they certainly have gained a significant amount of attention in technical circles, and now are seeing more commercial press coverage and commercial success as the business of ultracapacitors has crested from the imagined to the real over the past five years. Ultracapacitor manufacturing companies are springing up all over the place, especially in Asia, to meet the wave of business opportunities for these highly capable devices.

Currently, the U.S. has two ultracapacitor manufacturing companies, Maxwell Technologies in San Diego and Ioxus in Oneonta, N.Y. In a country the size of the U.S. there is room for more and I have no doubt we will see them soon. Who knows when and where the next ultracapacitor producer will appear?

But what is it about ultracapacitors that makes them special?

Is it their vastly complex electrochemical nature that drives their allure? Hardly, the ultracapacitor is actually quite simple to understand when compared to other energy-storage devices.

Is it their extraordinary power capability and long lifetime that brings customers running to the suppliers for more? I don’t think so, although it’s true that the ultracapacitor is very good at providing a strong burst of energy and regenerating when it is done. The ultracapacitor leads a very efficient lifetime, doing its one task exceedingly proficiently for a very, very long time.

It’s none of the above. I believe that the ultracapacitor is here to stay and is destined for a long and happy life akin to our old friend, the lead acid battery, because the ultracapacitor is an enabler of new capabilities such as wind turbines and fuel cells. Simply put, without ultracapacitors, the world would be a less capable place.

As a leading manufacturer and technology provider of ultracapacitors to the worldwide market, Maxwell Technologies gets to see it all, or at least all that we know of right now. From exploration of extra-terrestrial masses in the deepest parts of space to down-hole drilling applications more than a mile beneath the Earth’s crust, ultracapacitors are being called upon for their unique capability to enables processes that were previously thought or proven unmanageable.

While ultracapacitors don’t always make the grade in every application just yet, these devices are being asked to meet the needs of the harshest environments imaginable. One has to ask, “Why is that?”

It is because these deceptively simple devices work, they work well and they enable new applications, new capabilities and new advances where other technologies have failed to meet those needs.

And lest we forget, these devices are not at the end of their technological lifecycle. They are maturing so they are not at the beginning of their tech cycle either — there are some strong legs left in the technical advancement of ultracapacitors: higher voltage leading to higher energy storage, higher operating temperatures, better power performance and, don’t forget, cost reduction, among others.

These factors will continue to add to the attraction of ultracpacitors. No one can imagine the applications that they will find their way into. I have been with Maxwell Technologies for over seven years and in that time the steady drumbeat of new application opportunities never stops. It is as loud and clear as the day I started.  

Ultracapacitors are enablers, and they are here to stay. They stand to improve the quality of life the world over in ways both already realized and n ways not yet conceived or imagined.

Hang on, it’s going to be an exciting ride.