An updated report on supercapacitors from IDTechEx describes new device configurations that combine electrodes of batteries and supercapacitors, the so-called ‘hybrid capacitors’ or ‘supercabatteries’. They define a new technology segment in which the best of both batteries and supercapacitors are combined. The report Electrochemical Double Layer Capacitors: Supercapacitors 2014-2024 describes each of these technologies and their relative advantages and disadvantages. It presents a development roadmap including the expected improvements in performance and cost of different technology configurations and their likely market adoption in the different application segments
IDTechEx confirms its outlook for a 30% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) in the next 10 years, based on 2013 industry results. The supercapacitor market will reach a value of $6 billion in 2024. A new feature of this updated report is a performance benchmark of the energy and power density of the supercapacitors that are commercially available or under development from the main supercapacitor companies in the industry. Currently different companies report different performance results based on different testing methods. This benchmark has been based on a standardized testing procedure of supercapacitor performance, developed by UC Davis.
There is still plenty of room for material developments in supercapacitors. In this report progress in now environmentally friendlier and safer materials for supercapacitors are reported. The report also includes some of the latest performance achievements in relation to the implementation of graphene in supercapacitors.
Market Drivers
Some of the market drivers behind the adoption of supercapacitors in the transport sector are: fuel efficiency, greenhouse gas reductions, improved braking energy recovery, lighter energy storage and high power, fast charging and extended cycle life operation.
In the larger applications segments of transportation such as the automotive industry, supercapacitors are mainly being adopted for their potential to reduce fuel consumption (economic reason) and its potential to reduce greenhouse emissions (environmental reason). These benefits are possible based on supercapacitors capability as energy storage solution in stop-start systems and kinetic energy recovery. In Europe the mandatory levels of CO2 emissions reductions to be achieved in 2015 and 2020 for personal cars were established to reach 130 and 95 grams of CO2 per km respectively. This is the main driver in Europe and the reason why companies, such as Peugeot, have implemented it in popular cars, like the Peugeot 308 diesel version. Superior power capabilities are the main reason for the use of supercapacitors in the most advanced hybrid powertrains in racing cars, such as the Toyota TS040.
On the other hand, supercapacitors in the electronics sector need to be smaller and thinner to fit specific space constraints. One main use is to deliver the required energy to back-up information in case of power disruption. Their capabilities favour them for storing energy with very low losses thanks to their very low electric resistance in applications such as energy harvesting, where the very low levels of energy harvested can’t be wasted in electrical losses in the energy storage device. Finally, the high power demands and multifunctionality of current and future smartphones and tablet technologies require decoupling energy from power and supercapacitors have a key role to play in this application.
The report provides a detailed and complete assessment of incumbent and emerging technology solutions. For each technology, IDTechEx assess production method, key cost drives, key figures-of-merit including energy and power density, cost, internal resistance. The report profiles 72 supercapacitor manufacturers and provides more in-depth company profiles of the main players in the industry. These include a detailed analysis of the specific technology of each company and their commercial strategies and partnerships. For more details see the report Electrochemical Double Layer Capacitors: Supercapacitors 2014-2024. Also attend the IDTechEx event Supercapacitors USA at the Santa Clara Convention Center, November.19 and 20, 2014.
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