Supercapacitor/ Ultracapacitor Strategies 2013-2025 · Supercapacitor/ Ultracapacitor Strategies...

By Dr Peter Harrop, Franco Gonzalez, Jess Armstrong and Kathryn

Greaves

IDTechEx

www.IDTechEx.com

Supercapacitor/

Ultracapacitor Strategies

and Emerging

Applications

2013-2025 Electrochemical Double Layer Capacitors &

Supercabatteries AEDLC: Supplier & User

Interviews/Appraisal: Advances Creating Extra

Markets – Map to 2023

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Supercapacitor/ Ultracapacitor Strategies 2013-2025

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The authors

Dr Peter Harrop, PhD, FIEE is founder, controlling shareholder and

Chairman of IDTechEx Ltd. He was previously Chief Executive of Mars

Electronics, the $260 million .electronics company and Chairman of

Pinacl plc, the $100m fibre optic company. He has been chairman of

over 15 high tech companies. [email protected]

Franco Gonzalez is technology analyst at IDTechEx. Franco obtained an

MPhil in Engineering for Sustainable Development from the University

of Cambridge, where he focused on Sustainable Energy Systems. He

has a degree in Chemical Engineering from National Autonomous

University of Mexico. At IDTechEx, he is mainly involved with analysis

and research of the electric vehicles and energy harvesting industries.

[email protected]

Jess Armstrong and Kathryn Greaves are technical researchers for

IDTechEx and are based in the UK.

http://www.idtechex.com/

mailto:[email protected]






Contents Page 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 1

1.1. Supercapacitors and batteries converge 1

1.2. Success by application and territory 3

1.3. Most are chasing area improvement 9

1.4. Even lower temperature 10

1.5. Price and functional issues 11

1.6. Supercapacitors in vehicles 13

1.6.1. Conventional vehicles 13

1.6.2. Electric vehicles 14

1.7. Incidence of the different technologies 17

1.7.1. Incidence of manufacturers by operating principle 17

1.7.2. Incidence of current collector and active electrode types 17

1.7.3. Electrolytes 18

1.7.4. Solid electrolytes 19

1.8. Achieving the impossible 20

1.9. Manufacturers and putative manufacturers 29

1.10. New entrants 33

1.11. Supercapacitors and lithium-ion batteries are now one business 33

1.12. Change of leadership of the global value market? 36

2. INTRODUCTION 39

3. ADVANCES REQUIRED AND PROGRESS IDENTIFIED 45

3.1. Supercapacitors in vehicles 48

3.2. Ensuring that supercapacitors will replace more batteries 60

4. APPLICATIONS NOW AND IN THE FUTURE 61

4.1. Pulse Power 62

4.2. Bridge Power 62

4.3. Main Power 62

4.4. Memory Backup 62

4.4.1. Evolution of commercially successful functions 64

4.4.2. Composite structural and smart skin supercapacitors for power storage 64

4.5. Manufacturer successes and strategies by application 66


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5. SURVEY OF 80 MANUFACTURERS 69

6. ACHIEVEMENTS AND OBJECTIVES BY MANUFACTURER 77

7. EXAMPLES OF NON-COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS 105

8. ELECTROLYTES BY MANUFACTURER 109

9. INTERVIEWS AND COMMENTARY ON COMPANY STRATEGY FOR SUPERCAPACITORS 117

9.1. Interviews with suppliers 117

9.1.1. Cap-XX Australia 117

9.1.2. Cellergy Israel 118

9.1.3. East Penn Manufacturing USA 118

9.1.4. Elton Super Capacitor Russian Federation 119

9.1.5. Inmatech USA 123

9.1.6. Ioxus USA 127

9.1.7. JR Micro Japan 127

9.1.8. Maxwell Technologies USA 128

9.1.9. Nanotune Technologies USA 150

9.1.10. Nesscap Energy Inc Canada/Korea 150

9.1.11. Nichicon Japan 152

9.1.12. Nippon ChemiCon/ United ChemiCon Japan 155

9.1.13. Yo-Engineering Russian Federation 159

9.1.14. Yunasko Russian Federation 160

9.2. User interviews and inputs 164

9.2.1. Bombardier Canada 164

9.2.2. Hydrogenics Corporation USA 164

9.2.3. Honda Japan 164

10. DEVELOPER, MATERIALS SUPPLIER AND ACADEMIC INPUTS 165

10.1. Daikin Industries Japan 165

10.2. Hutchinson (TOTAL) France 167

10.3. IFEVS Italy 171

10.4. Northeastern University USA 172

10.5. NYSERDA grants reveal trends of research 173

10.6. Tecate Group USA 175

10.7. Yuri Gogotski 175

APPENDIX 1: IDTECHEX PUBLICATIONS AND CONSULTANCY 179


Tables Page Table 1.1 Main achievements and objectives with supercapacitors and their derivatives by number of

manufacturers and putative manufacturers involved 5

Table 1.2 The ten advances that will create the largest add-on markets for supercapacitors and their

derivatives in order of importance in creating market value with examples of organisations

leading the advance 8

Table 1.3 15 examples of component displacement by supercapacitors in 2012-3 21

Table 1.4 Supercapacitor functions reaching major market acceptance 2013-2023 with some of the

companies leading the success by sector 28

Table 1.5 80 manufacturers, putative manufacturers and commercial companies developing

supercapacitors, supercabatteries and carbon-enhanced lead batteries for

commercialisation with country, website and device technology. 29

Table 2.2 Some of the pros and cons of supercapacitors 41

Table 3.1 Advances that will create the largest add-on markets for supercapacitors and their

derivatives by value in order of importance with examples of organisations leading the

advance. 45

Table 3.2 Examples of component displacement by supercapacitors. 53


companies leading the success by sector 64


supercapacitors, supercabatteries and carbon-enhanced lead batteries for

commercialisation with country, website and device technology. 71

Table 6.1 By application, for Automotive, Aerospace, Military and Oil & Gas, the successes by 78

supercapacitor/supercabattery manufacturers in grey green and their targets for extra

applications in the near term in yellow. Six sub categories are analysed 78

Table 6.2 The successes in six categories in the Utility sector by 78 supercapacitor/supercabattery

manufacturers in grey green and their targets for extra applications in the near term in

yellow 87

Table 6.3 The successes by 78 supercapacitor/supercabattery manufacturers in the Consumer and

Industrial & Commercial sectors in grey green and their targets for extra applications in the

near term in yellow. Eight sub-categories are analysed. 94

Table 7.1 Non-commercial supercapacitor developers with their country, website, industrial partner,

applications targeted 105

Table 8.1 Electrolytes used – acetonitrile solvent, other solvent or ionic liquid - by supercapacitor and

lithium supercabattery manufacturers and putative manufacturers. 111


Figures Page Fig. 1.1 Some of the options and some of the suppliers in the spectrum between conventional capacitors

and rechargeable batteries with primary markets shown in yellow 2

Fig. 1.2 Examination of achievement and strategy in the most important applicational sectors. Number

of manufacturers of supercapacitors and their variants that have that have supplied given

sectors vs number that target them for future expansion without having achieved significant

sales so far 4

Fig. 1.3 Probable timeline for market adoption by sector and technical achievements driving the growth

of the market for supercapacitors and their derivatives 2013-2025 with market value projections

for supercapacitors, cost and performance parameter improvements by year and, for

comparison, lithium-based batteries and pure/hybrid electric vehicles value market by year

2013-2025 7

Fig. 1.4 Some of the main ways in which greater supercapacitor energy density is being sought by the

route of increasing useful carbon area per unit volume or weight 10

Fig. 1.5 The main functions that supercapacitors will perform over the coming decade 12

Fig. 1.6 Examples of the main functions performed by supercapacitors 13

Fig. 1.7 The evolution from conventional to various types of electric vehicle related to supercapacitor

applications in them today, where hybrids and pure electric versions are a primary target 15

Fig. 1.8 Possible timeframe and technology for reaching the tipping point for sales of pure electric on-

road cars 16

Fig. 1.9 The number of manufacturers and putative manufacturers of supercapacitors/supercabatteries

by six sub-categories of technology 17

Fig. 1.10 Incidence of manufacturers of various types of supercapacitor and variant by operating principle 18

Fig. 1.11 Component displacement mapped as a function of benefits relative to batteries conferred by

supercapacitors 20

Fig. 1.12 Estimate of the number of trading manufacturers of supercapacitors and supercabatteries

globally 1993-2025 including timing of industry shakeout. 33

Fig. 2.1 Types of capacitor 39

Fig. 2.2 Symmetric supercapacitor EDLC left compared with asymmetric AEDLC ie supercabattery with

battery-like cathode (ie part electrochemical in action) shown right. During charge and

discharge, the voltage is nearly constant resulting in higher maximum voltage and twice the

capacitance of anordinary supercapacitor/ ultracapacitor 40

Fig. 2.3 Symmetric supercapacitor EDLC compared with asymmetric AEDLC ie supercabattery with

lithiated carbon anode (ie entirely electrostatic in action) shown right 40

Fig. 2.4 Eight families of option and some of the suppliers in the spectrum between conventional

capacitors and rechargeable batteries with primary markets shown in yellow 42

Fig. 3.1 The main functions that supercapacitors will perform over the coming decade 47

Fig. 3.2 Examples of the main functions performed by supercapacitors. Those in black are currently only

achieved with a flammable, carcinogenic electrolyte – acrylonitrile – but this will change 48


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applications in them today, where hybrids and pure electric versions are a primary target. 49

Fig. 3.4 Possible timeframe and technology for reaching the tipping point for sales of pure electric on-

road cars 50


supercapacitors 51

Fig. 3.6 Siemens view in 2012 of the elements of Electrical Bus Rapid Transit eBRT, for example,

mentioning U-Caps meaning supercapacitors 52

Fig. 4.1 Examples of applications of the ULTIMO Cell 63

Fig. 4.2 Structural supercapacitor as flexible film. 65

Fig. 4.3 Primary demand for energy storage for battery-like products in Europe in 2020, which will be

satisfied by batteries, supercapacitors, intermediate products and combinations of these 67

Fig. 5.1 Incidence of the different technologies 74

Fig. 5.2 Number of manufacturers offering the various supercapacitor technologies including

derivatives, some companies having several options 75

Fig. 5.3 Estimate of the number of trading manufacturers of supercapacitors and supercabatteries

globally 1993-2025 including timing of industry shakeout. 76

Fig. 9.1 UltrabatteryTM for medium hybrid vehicles 118

Fig. 9.2 Inmatech Innovations 124

Fig. 9.3 Supercapacitor market and Inmatech 124

Fig. 9.4 Maxwell Technologies flat supercapacitor for mobile phones etc. exhibited at EVS26 Los

Angeles 128

Fig. 9.5 Nichicon supercapacitor emphasis at EVS26 Los Angeles 2012 153

Fig. 9.6 Supercapacitor-based electric vehicle fast charging stations launched in 2012 by Nichicon. 155

Fig. 9.7 Mazda car supercapacitor exhibited at EVS26 Los Angeles 2012 156

Fig. 9.8 Nippon Chemi-Con low resistance DXE Series priority shown in 2012 157

Fig. 9.9 Exhibit by United ChemiCon at EVS26 Los Angeles 158

Fig. 10.1 Daikin Industries display on fluorination of supercapacitor electrolytes 166

Fig. 10.2 Extracts from Hutchinson presentation at eCarTec Munich October 2012 168


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1. Executive summary and

conclusions Our report, “Electrochemical Double Layer Capacitors: Supercapacitors 2013-2023” introduced the

subject, gave overall market forecasts, examples of research trends, analysis of patents and

achievements and it briefly profiled the manufacturers and putative manufacturers. By popular

request, we now look much more closely at the applications and technology today and in future and

company strategy in matching the two as they rapidly evolve. We address when certain new

applications will be identified and taken seriously plus when currently-impracticable applications

will become viable. Yes, the market is limited by unimaginative copy-cat marketing as well as

technological advance. This new report is based on extensive interviews and searches to reveal the

trends and lessons. Mainly, it consists of detailed tables of new analysis and roadmaps to 2025.

1.1. Supercapacitors and batteries converge

Traditionally, rechargeable batteries have been used as energy dense products and the other

devices based on capacitors have been used as power dense products. There are more-power-

dense versions of the favourite rechargeable batteries – lithium-ion with 70% or so of the

rechargeable battery market in 2023. Unfortunately, power dense rechargeable batteries surrender

a lot of energy density. It is therefore helpful that more and more energy dense supercapacitors

and variants are becoming available, some even matching lead acid batteries and yet retaining

excellent power density. This convergence of properties has led to the widespread combination of

the two in parallel, particularly in power applications. Battery/ supercapacitor combinations

approach the performance of an ideal battery – something that can never be achieved with a battery

alone because its chemical reactions cause movement, swelling and eventually irreversability. In

some cases, things have gone further. For example, hybrid buses using supercapacitors now rarely

use them across the traction battery – the supercapacitor replaces the battery, the only battery

remaining in the vehicle being a small lead-acid starter battery.


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Many more variants are now available, so there is now almost a continuum of devices between

conventional electrolytic capacitors and rechargeable batteries as we show below. The examples of

manufacturers, that are given below, illustrate how battery manufacturers and conventional

capacitor manufacturers are entering the business of devices intermediate between the two.

However, rather surprisingly, most of the intermediate devices are developed and manufactured by

companies not in either conventional capacitors or batteries. Although we use the term

intermediate devices, some have some properties superior to both conventional capacitors and

rechargeable batteries.

Fig. 1.1 Some of the options and some of the suppliers in the spectrum between conventional capacitors

and rechargeable batteries with primary markets shown in yellow

Conventional

symmetrical

(bipolar) solid

capacitor

Conventional

electrolytic

capacitor

Etched

aluminium foil

oxidised Al2O3

or sintered

tantalum

oxidised Ta2O5

“Hybrid

capacitor”

Super

Capacitor

electrode

plus sintered

tantalum

oxide Ta2O5

electrode

Symmetric

Super-

Capacitor ie

Electrochemical

Double Layer

Cpacitor

Asymmetric intermediate devices Rechargeable

battery

Supercabattery ie

Asymmetric

Electrochemical Double

Layer Capacitor AEDLC

Pseudo-

Capacitor eg

RuO2

Nippon

Chemi-con

Nichicon

AVX

Nippon

Chemi-con

Nichicon

Evans Maxwell

Technologies

Nippon Chemi-

con

Nichicon

AVX

Panasonic

Batscap

With battery

anode and

supercap.

cathode

JRMicro

With battery

cathode and

supercap

anode

East Penn

Furukawa

Evans

Capacitor

Panasonic

Batscap

Electrostatic

Partly electrostatic and

partly electrochemical

(faradaic)

Electro-

chemical

Source IDTechEx

Let us define the pseudocapacitance. There are two types of charge storage that can occur at the

interface: pseudocapacitance and electrochemical double layer capacitance. For example, if the

electrode is a carbon nanotube with some functional groups on it or nanoparticles that allow

intercalation of Li ions, then electron transfer reaction (Faradaic reaction) occurs at the surface of

the electrode, and this type of capacitance is called ‘pseudocapacitance’. Currently it gives a more

expensive capacitor because of use of ruthenium with higher capacitance and certain performance

limits so Evans capacitor sells them to the military for instance. Faradaic phenomena usually limit

INCREASING ENERGY DENSITY

INCREASING POWER DENSITY


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the life to electrostatic devices, something also seen in the hybrid devices with one battery-like

electrode and one battery-like (faradaic) one. Currently the market for faradaic variants of

supercapacitors, notably pseudocapacitors and supercabatteries is about one hundredth of that for

fully electrostatic supercapacitors and they are unlikely to ever dominate because most

applications need fit and forget and fastest charge-discharge (power density) and greatest safety

and reliability. Where highest energy density is needed, that may be provided by any of the three

options in years to come – opinion is divided. IDTechEx sees the biggest market value being

supercapacitors then supercabatteries in ten years from now.

If no Faradaic reaction is allowed, charges can only be physically absorbed in to the double layer

without any electron transfers. In this case we only have purely electrostatic double-layer

capacitance the primary topic of this report. As MIT reports, “When we view the

electrode/electrolyte interface as a black box, we only see that ions and electrons enter and are

stored at a given voltage, and it is difficult to distinguish whether charge is stored capacitively or

Faradaically. The time scales and nonlinear response of each process is very different, however, so

it is possible to separate these processes from experimental data using suitable mathematical

models.”

1.2. Success by application and territory

A multi-billion dollar market for supercapacitors and their variants is emerging within the decade,

so creation of a one billion dollar manufacturer will be feasible, certainly by 2025. Put at its

simplest, the lesson of the extensive interviews and investigations carried out for this report show

that, if you want to create such a billion dollar supercapacitor company, whatever else you do, you

sell into the automotive sector, land, water and airborne but particularly land – off and on-road -

for the next decade and secondarily the utility sector . You must work to increase energy density

and reduce cost, if necessary by making the variant called the lithium-ion capacitor, though several

participants believe that symmetric supercapacitors are all you need to make these gains. You

must make acquisitions and creatively market, opening up new applications with customised

products such as drop-in battery replacements. Large companies will have an advantage in taking

the ever bigger orders available from a relatively small number of large automotive companies and

utilities. Our study reveals that, although the early supercapacitor orders were for small devices in

electronics such as CMOS backup, we have passed through a period where electrical engineering

applications have become more important. Indeed, they will now be by far the most important. Let

us look at the evidence.

Our study of 78 manufacturers and putative manufacturers shows the following achievements and

intentions to enter a sector to be pre-eminent. The minor differences in numbers are not of

significance. However, on these criteria, this is an industry that has sharply changed direction and

this is reinforced by other evidence we present.


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Fig. 1.2 Examination of achievement and strategy in the most important applicational sectors. Number of

manufacturers of supercapacitors and their variants that have that have supplied given sectors vs

number that target them for future expansion without having achieved significant sales so far

Industrial &

Commercial

Vehicles Consumer Utility Aerospace &

Military

Achievement 43 33 32

28 18

Intention 11

16

10

11

10

Total number of

manufacturers

targeting these

sectors

54

49 42 39 28

Source IDTechEx

This conclusion is supported by the facts that market leader Maxwell Technologies derived its

largest business from buses in 2012 and the largest order in that year was the Meidensha/Sojitz

$318 million (¥25bn) contract to supply two 2 MW Capapost regenerated energy storage units for

Hong Kong’s South Island Line metro project. Another large commitment was for Batscap to

supply large supercapacitors to go across the batteries in 22,000 Bluecars its parent company is

making for open rental in Paris and more are being made for open sale. That may be of the order of

$20 million. The similar application in Mazda pure electric cars also in 2012 may also involve a

substantial commitment. So the largest recent orders and the main delivery by the market leader

are in vehicles and vehicle/utility-related project. Everything points to the largest market for

supercapacitors now being in electrical engineering rather than electronics, the easy entry point

for beginners.

Our more detailed results below support this, though mobile phones are also a strong interest

where supercapacitor prices of one thousandth may eventually be compensated by selling one

thousand times the number. Most of the most popular potential markets will involve large orders

from a few companies, so there will be few winners, these being large suppliers in all likelihood. In

the case of the automotive industry, these large suppliers will sometimes not be the traditional Tier

One suppliers, the supercapacitor suppliers bypassing the traditional Tier One suppliers as has

already happened with supply of automotive lithium-ion batteries. Now for the detail.

Largest

recent

orders

Largest

recent

orders


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Table 1.1 Main achievements and objectives with supercapacitors and their derivatives by number of

manufacturers and putative manufacturers involved

Total interest Achievement Interest for the future

1. Office equipment, medical

and small electronics

47

Attracting

most

suppliers

42 5

2. Hybrid & pure electric on-

road vehicles

42 23 19 STRONG. Very large orders

will be available from a

relatively limited number of

customers

3. Conventional on-road

vehicles

34 20 14 STRONG. Very large orders



customers

4. Mobile phone & camera 32 7 25 STRONG Very large orders



customers

5. Remotely-read utility

meters

21 19 2

6. Vehicles off-road 27 9 18 STRONG Very large orders



customers

7. Photovoltaics 24 9 15 STRONG Very large orders



customers

8. Wind turbines 22 18 4

9. Train, trolleybus & tram 21 11 10 STRONG Very large orders



customers

10. Military 21 12 9

11. Toys & other consumer 20 19 1

12. Grid power factor

correction and frequency

control

18 6 12 STRONG Very large orders



customers but there are

many competing options

13. Audio 18 17 2

14. Grid storage 16 6 10 STRONG Very large orders

may be available from a


customers but there are

many competing options

15. Other energy harvesting

including thermoelectric

and piezoelectric

14 4 10 STRONG Large orders may

be available from a relatively

limited number of customers

16. Standby power & UPS not

on a grid scale

13 6 7

17. Aerospace 11 8 3

18. Telecoms inc GSM/GPRS

PC cards

7 6 1

19. Oil & Gas 5 4 1

20. Gaming machines 4 3 1

21. Heavy pulse power :

welding, metal forming,

robotics

4 2 2

Source IDTechEx


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Location of suppliers

Supercapacitors and their variants will be a multi-billion dollar business in 10 years mainly served

by the USA, Russia, Japan and Korea, if current trends continue. Europeans are users notably in

trains and buses, but, as suppliers, they are almost fast asleep with little leadership beyond

Skeleton Technologies in Estonia and a skimpy research base.

Indeed, the main reason that market leader Maxwell Technologies saw its supercapacitor sales

growth drop to single digits in 2012 was weakness in Europe. Maxwell Technologies has

supercapacitor sales of the order of $100 million with China being its strongest territory throughout

2012. With rapid increase in the number of manufacturers of supercapacitors and their variants,

Maxwell Technologies may be losing market share particularly to the rapidly growing number of

local suppliers in East Asia, one of which took the largest order in the world in 2012. Market growth

continuing at 30% or more is largely driven by East Asian demand supplied locally by a host of new

manufacturers but also underpinned by rapid adoption in such things as cars, buses, wind turbines

and backup power from the micro to the grid level in the other parts of the world.

A probable timeline for market adoption and technical achievements driving the growth of the

market for supercapacitors and their derivatives is as follows. Our projection of 30% compound

growth is supported by Nesscap commencing to triple output and Maxwell to increase it by 30%.

Additional supporting facts are the large increase in value of the largest orders being taken, the

growth of the end user markets such as bus production and the large number of new

manufacturers and applications continuing. Our interviews confirmed that suppliers see double

digit growth in future and our projection is one of the lowest among analysts.


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Fig. 1.3 Probable timeline for market adoption by sector and technical achievements driving the growth of

the market for supercapacitors and their derivatives 2013-2025 with market value projections for

supercapacitors, cost and performance parameter improvements by year and, for comparison,

lithium-based batteries and pure/hybrid electric vehicles value market by year 2013-2025

2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2025

Super-

capacitor/

super-

cabattery

global

market

$ billion

0.84 1.1 1.42 1.85 2.41 3.13 4.07 5.29 6.87 8.93 11.6 19.6

Market leader Maxwell Technologies either buys companies,

gets bought or loses its market leadership. Will the NASDAQ

listing lead to short-termism or to funding?

Nippon Chemi-Con/United Chemi-Con gains share. Most of the

top players in supercapacitors/ supercabatteries lose market

share if only because so many new companies enter the

business

Increased percentage of sales are

supercabatteries and green

supercapacitors. Number of

manufacturers rises to 200 then

consolidation begins

First $1bn

manufacturers

created, mainly by

acquisitions

Li-ion

battery

market

$ billion

25.3 27.8 30.6 33.7 37.0 40.7 44.8 49.3 54.2 59.7 65.6 79.6

An increasing percentage of lithium-ion battery sales will generate the sale of a supercapacitor to go across it

Supercap/

Super

cabatttery

best

Wh/kg in

lab.with at

least

10kW/kg

45 47 49 52 56 61 67 74 93 96 200 300

Nano

Tune

Nano

Tune

plans

this with

up to

30kW/kg

in 2014

Half of

Li-ion

battery

energy

density,

closing

the gap

Super

cap/

Superca

bat.

best

Wh/kg in

volume

prodn

15 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 67 85 93 100

Serious impact on

lead acid battery

market which starts

to shrink rapidly for

many reasons

Serious impact on

lithium-ion battery

market which

continues to be

several times

larger but grows

more slowly

Cost $/kW

of power

version

10kW/kg,

5Wh/kg,

0.1mOhm

ESR

13 12 10 9.8 9.5 9.1 8.7 6.5

Yunasko

targets this

for 2014

Yunasko targets

This in 2020

Li-ion or

LiMetal

battery

Wh/kg in

prod-

uction

130 140 300 320 340 360 380 400 420 460 500 600

Envia

Systems

demo’d this

in lab in

2012.

Pure EV

car sales

surge

In 2012,

Nikkei

wrote

that

Toyota is

working

on this

Hybrid &

Pure

Electric

Vehicles

land, water

and

airborne

global EV

market

$ billion

64 75 87 104 123 145 172 206 242 264 290 322

An increasing percentage of hybrid and pure electric vehicles will use a large fast charge/discharge or main power

supercapacitor /supercabattery plus many small supercapacitors for regenerative brake backup, emergency door opening,

power circuit balancing etc

Integrated units will gradually become popular where the supercapacitor/ supercabattery is part of a more comprehensive

module, some of these modules being made by the supercapacitor manufacturer.


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2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2025

Gap closing

between energy

density of

supercapacitors/

supercabatteries

and batteries and

costs reduced,

boosting

applications.

Super

cap locos

in prod-

uction in

China. This

gives

limited

operation

without

catenary

Fuel cell cars, buses

and trucks in

production from

several major makers

many with power

supercapacitors

across the fuel cell

Most new phones &

cameras have

supercapacitor

flash. Apple USA

becomes a large

purchaser of

supercapacitors.

Samsung and Toyota

major on

supercapacitors as a

key enabling

technology for their

products

100K wind turbines installed

with supercapacitor pitch

control

Most hybrid buses made have

a supercapacitor instead

of a battery.

China over 70% of global bus

market and supplied locally

with buses and their

supercapacitors

Graphene supercapacitors in

volume production.

Green supercapacitors outsell

Others

Extensive sale of

supercapacitors/

supercabatteries as structural

components in vehicles,

phones etc.

Surge in consumer and hand-

tool applications

Wind

3-5% of

China’s

power –

big

supercap

market

including

Power

balancing

Chinese

get the

business

Supercapacitors

in most new

on-road ICE stop-

start vehicles.

Largest market is

in East Asia and

supplied locally

Supercapacitors

In power for most

material

handling vehicles

Super

caps widely

used for grid

power smooth

& other grid and

green power uses

Many

hand tools

use super

cap not battery

and they are used

as smart skin on

vehicles etc.

Source IDTechEx

The primary advances that will create the largest add-on markets by value will be the following in

order of importance.

Table 1.2 The ten advances that will create the largest add-on markets for supercapacitors and their

derivatives in order of importance in creating market value with examples of organisations

leading the advance

Feature Examples of organisations leading, or claiming to lead, this

advance

1. Affordable, greater gravimetric and, less

important, volumetric energy density particularly

because it will allow more batteries to be

completely replaced and, where the

supercapacitor is used across a battery to protect

it and enhance its performance, less battery will

be needed. Less battery means improved system

reliability and potentially lower cost, not just

improved performance. Where this is achieved by

higher cell voltage there are other benefits such

as greater reliability and lower cost of high

voltage stacks because they have fewer

interconnects.

This is achieved by increasing cell voltage and/or

capacitance because E=0.5CV2

Cell voltage records are being set by Vina Technology, and

Nisshinbo both at 3V and JM Energy 3.8V (LiC) LithChem

Energy 3.9V at present. C is increased primarily by

increasing the usable active electrode area or making a

supercabattery but there is also scope to move from thick

current collectors, presently at up to 40 microns to thinner

ones, maybe down to 5 microns. Those tackling electrode

area successfully include

State University of New York at Binghampton

Elbit Systems

Graphene Energy

JR Micro

Nanotune Technologies

Skeleton Technologies

University of Kentucky

Yunasko

2. Lower price for existing capabilities Chinese suppliers

Maxwell Technologies

Inmatech

ApowerCap Technologies

NanoTune

3. More imaginative marketing opening up new

applications

Nippon Chemi-Con



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Feature Examples of organisations leading, or claiming to lead, this

advance

4. Guaranteed 20 year life. The best supercapacitors

probably last at least 20 years but commercial

guarantees rarely exceed ten years and are often

less.

JM Energy

5. Higher frequency of operation, improved pulse

operation

Evans Capacitor

Cellergy

Elbit Systems

6. Green, non-flammable versions with as good or

better capabilities than the often flammable,

poisonous organic versions, some of which

contain liquids that can cause birth defects and

cancer such as acetonitrile. In the past this has

been less of a problem. This was because most

were used in electronics with such small amounts

of liquid that most regulations concerning

transport of them, uses where they may be split

open and disposal conditions were not onerous.

However, now the electrical engineering

applications dominate, usually with bigger

supercapacitors containing more of the

dangerous liquids such as acetonitrile, colliding

with more of the existing regulations. Research

has revealed new malign physiological effects

leading to greater caution and potentially tougher

regulations

Advanced Capacitor Technology

Asahi Kasei/FDK

CDE Cornell Dubilier

Cellergy

Elbit Systems

FDK

Hitachi

Inmatech

Kankyu battery

NEC

Nichicon

Nippon Chemi-Con

Panasonic

Power System Co.

Taiyo Yuden

Tavrima

Vina Technology

7. Greater power density Case Western Reserve University

Inmatech

ApowerCap Technologies

8. Reduced self-leakage

9. Reduce capacitance loss during discharge and

during life

University of West Florida

10. New form factors such as smart skin, electronic

wallpaper, stretchable, transfer printed,

implantable, edible, dissolves in the human body

Paper Battery Company

Advanced Biomimetic Sensors

University of Texas at Dallas

Imperial College London

OptiXtal

Source IDTechEx

1.3. Most are chasing area improvement

In the quest for the top priority of volumetric and gravimetric energy density improvement, most

are chasing wider useful active electrode area that is affordable and not degraded over life. This

quest is summarised below. The more advanced forms cost more per gram and can be more

delicate, calling for special measures (expense) to make them stable and effective (eg not

agglomerating to lose area) throughout supercapacitor life but the hope is that they will be lower

cost per kWh stored. Indeed, many professors believe that something near to their theoretical

potential may be achievable and this could exceed the energy density of lithium-ion batteries

existing and planned, severely impacting sale of such batteries. However, for now, no

supercapacitor or even supercabattery in production exceeds the energy density of lead-acid

batteries 20-40 Wh/kg and most are no more than 10-15 Wh/kg. It is ironical that the adhesion and


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series resistance problems of lithium-ion batteries caused by swelling and movement during use,

due to the electrochemistry, recur in supercapacitors for a different reason. Here the active

electrode layer is more delicate and presents much less area to the current collector that can be

gripped, so adhesion and series resistance are still challenging even though the supercapacitor,

being electrostatic in action, does not swell and shrink during cycling.

Fig. 1.4 Some of the main ways in which greater supercapacitor energy density is being sought by the route

of increasing useful carbon area per unit volume or weight

Source IDTechEx

1.4. Even lower temperature

Supercapacitors are already popular in cold countries because they lose only a few percent of

charge availability at minus twenty to minus forty degrees centigrade. Maxwell Technologies

successfully offers a drop-in replacement for one of the three lead acid batteries in a typical truck

so it can start cold after hotel facilities have drained some of the lead-acid power overnight and

these low temperatures make up to 50% of what remains in the lead-acid batteries unavailable but

there is even more to go. Drexel University reported as follows in March 2012.

“Many people can relate to the hardship of starting a vehicle during a bitter cold morning before

work. It takes a huge amount of power relative to a warm sunny day for two reasons: the

mechanical parts of an engine require more power to start moving when cold (motor oil becomes

viscous, like honey), and the battery operates at a very low efficiency because the ions in electrolyte

solution move much slower at freezing temperatures.


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A collaboration between researchers at Drexel University in Philadelphia, The University of Texas at

Austin, and Paul Sabatier University in Toulouse, France have recently engineered a supercapacitor

system that can operate efficiently at very low temperatures - as low as -50 °C (-58 °F). Just

published in the journal Nano Energy, their work involves a unique nanostructured carbon material

deemed activated microwave exfoliated graphite oxide ("a-MEGO"), which was inspired by the

recent interest in graphene. Graphene, which is an atomically thin layer of carbon, has many

applications in energy storage and generation.

Combined with a-MEGO is an electrolyte called an ionic liquid. These are salts like sodium chloride,

but are liquid at room temperature or below. The a-MEGO material has a high surface area, with

about 2 grams having the surface area of a football field; as a result, a-MEGO is able to store a

large amount of charge on its surface as a supercapacitor. The unique electrolyte, which is a

mixture of ionic liquids, allows for operation at low temperature. Commercial supercapacitors, by

comparison, use an electrolyte that will fail at temperatures below -25 °C (-13 °F). Finally,

supercapacitors will last for more than 10 years and up to 1 million charge/discharge cycles,

compared to batteries that will last a couple years for about 1 thousand cycles. Imagine never

having to change your car battery!

This study reinforces the potential of graphene in energy storage applications, but also

demonstrates that only the right combination of an electrode material and an electrolyte leads to

truly outstanding performance. This opens the door to development of even better supercapacitors

using safe and non-flammable ionic liquid electrolytes.”

1.5. Price and functional issues

Today, the upfront cost of a supercapacitor is almost never lower than the component or circuit

replaced such as a tantalum or aluminium electrolytic capacitor or a battery. Despite this, the high

up front cost of a supercapacitor does not prevent the occurrence of cost saving over life for

systems where supercapacitors are introduced. This is partly because supercapacitors last longer

and take more punishment than batteries.

The main functions that supercapacitors will perform over the coming decade are shown below

with examples of appropriate applications. Relative to batteries, working at very low temperatures

and fast charging without fast discharging in a given application are less important than the other

functions and combinations of function shown relative to batteries. Note that most of them can be

described as electrical engineering rather than electronics, this being the trend in market value as

well. Pulse power and bridging power applications tend to combine high power density ie fast

charging and fast discharging relative to batteries.


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Fig. 1.5 The main functions that supercapacitors will perform over the coming decade

FAST DISCHARGE Pulse power & bridging power

Alone Alone

FAST CHARGE

LOW TEMPERATUREEG -40C

SAFETY, LONGLIFEHIGH RELIABILITY

MAINAPPLICATIONS

2013-2023

Source IDTechEx

These benefits are particularly useful in replacing, partially replacing, enhancing and extending the

life of rechargeable batteries.

Examples of the main functions performed by supercapacitors in 2013 are shown below.


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Fig. 1.6 Examples of the main functions performed by supercapacitors

Low temperature starting is currently only achieved with a flammable, carcinogenic electrolyte –

acrylonitrile – but this will change. Indeed, Nippon Chemi-Con and several others have recently

claimed -40oC performance with aqueous electrolytes.

GSE = Airport ground support equipment such as aircraft tugs and baggage towing

ICE = Internal Combustion Engine

EV = Electric vehicle hybrid or pure electric, land, water or air

Source IDTechEx

1.6. Supercapacitors in vehicles

1.6.1. Conventional vehicles

There are now many applications of supercapacitors in conventional vehicles such as racing car

starter and opening an electric bus door in an emergency. Stop-start idle-elimination systems

reduce fuel consumption and emissions by shutting off a car's internal combustion engine as the

vehicle slows, and seamlessly restarting the engine when the driver requires to drive off. The

millions of conventional vehicles with this are called “microhybrids” because are usually not

electric vehicles in that they usually do not have electric traction, these vehicles that automatically

switch off when stopped, however briefly and sometimes even when coasting, usually employ

improved lead acid batteries to do this. Peugeot Citroen of France uses lithium-ion batteries in

their piston engine cars for stop-start given that the lead acid batteries cannot cope with frequent

stop start or even very cold weather. Now there is another development even here because none of

these solutions are “fit and forget”. In December 2012, Lamborghini announced that it will


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incorporate Maxwell “ultracapacitors” to support a stop-start idle-elimination system in their

Aventador conventional cars which are due to go into production shortly. The idle-elimination

system is an important element of Lamborghini's announced program to reduce its new models'

CO2 emissions by 35 percent by 2015. Incorporating the six-cell ultracapacitor module for added

cranking power to ensure efficient restarting for the 12-cylinder, 700-horse power Aventador also

enabled Lamborghini to reduce the size and weight of the battery to further enhance performance.

The system originally was designed by Dimac, Maxwell's ultracapacitor distribution partner in Italy.

The production system will be supplied by the Continental Engineering Services unit of Continental

AG, one of the world's leading automotive electronics and mechatronics suppliers. Ultracapacitors

provide burst power to re-start the engine, relieving the car's battery of high current, repetitive

cycling that can shorten battery life.

"This design win with one of the world's leading producers of high-performance autos provides

additional validation of ultracapacitors as an enabling technology for fuel-efficiency and reduced

emissions in passenger, commercial and public transit vehicles," said David Schramm, Maxwell's

president and chief executive officer. "We continue to focus on penetrating the large and

strategically important automotive and transportation markets by aligning ourselves with industry

leaders such as Lamborghini and Continental, and continuously strengthening our design,

engineering and production capabilities."

1.6.2. Electric vehicles

Clearly vehicles are a major focus because the properties of existing supercapacitors are

appropriate to many functions in vehicles. A more detailed view of the vehicle market is shown

below.


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applications in them today, where hybrids and pure electric versions are a primary target

Source IDTechEx

In contrast to the massive success with pure electric e-bikes, which sometimes use

supercapacitors, forklift and boats, the pure electric on-road cars are a failure today. They sell

globally at a fraction of the number of even pure electric golf cars where demand is 150,000 yearly,

let alone pure electric power chairs and 3 and 4 wheel scooters for the disabled at around 1.3

million yearly or pure electric e-bikes at over 30 million yearly.


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Pure electric cars will attain the necessary affordable 320 -480 km/ 200-300 miles range in ten

years because there are so many development routes to this:

Lithium-ion batteries: Altria 300Wh/kg & Toyota 600Wh/kg?

Lithium metal batteries: IBM/Argonne, BASF/Sion, Kolibri, Oxis, Bollore Batscap <300WH/kg

so far

Graphene supercapacitors: several professors say 1000Wh/kg potential or more.

Supercabatteries in the form of lithium-ion capacitors

Lots of little things including multiple energy harvesting, light weight aerodynamic bodies,

composites, more efficient and printed electrics save 40% of cost, space, weight

However, although supercapacitors will have a part to play in the future success of pure electric

cars, we believe that will not be as the primary source of power even by the end of the coming

decade. Supercapacitors will be across the battery in a minority of cases. In our opinion, what will

cause the tipping point will be a combination of 1 and 5 in the main. A possible timeframe is shown

below.

Fig. 1.8 Possible timeframe and technology for reaching the tipping point for sales of pure electric on-road

cars

Source IDTechEx


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1.7. Incidence of the different technologies

1.7.1. Incidence of manufacturers by operating principle

The number of manufacturers and putative manufacturers of supercapacitors/supercabatteries by

six sub-categories of technology is shown below.

Fig. 1.9 The number of manufacturers and putative manufacturers of supercapacitors/supercabatteries by

six sub-categories of technology

Symmetric supercapacitor EDLC

6574%

Supercabattery based on lithium LiC

1416%

Ionicliquid

6%

Supercabattery based on nickel battery

AEDLCNi 2

2%

Pseudocapacitor RuO2 part electrostatic, part

electrochemical2

2%

Tantalum electrolytic/ supercapacitor

TaHybrid 1

1%

Source IDTechEx

1.7.2. Incidence of current collector and active electrode

types

Current collectors are mainly aluminium for symmetrical EDLCs. The active electrode material is

mainly vegetable-derived carbon which is “activated” by solvents to give high area and an active

surface generating efficient electrochemical double layers. An increasing minority use larger-area

carbon such as carbon from carbide, aerogel carbon, carbon nanotubes CNT or nano-onions or

graphene, sometimes curved to deter re-agglomeration, though much of this work is currently pre-

production and not yet anywhere near to its theoretical capacitance and energy density or even

significantly better than coconut-based active-electrode carbon in supercapacitors. Some cells are


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reaching higher voltage giving the prospect of higher energy density and reliability, since fewer

interconnects are generated and energy density is proportional to the square of voltage. The

current collectors are usually aluminium foil for acetonitrile and other organic electrolytes and 3D

conductive polymer film for aqueous electrolytes though pre-coating aluminium foil with a carbon-

based elastomer is being trialled to protect the foil from aqueous electrolyte. Such slot coated

eleastonmers are often used to grip difficult active electrode materials such as graphene and CNT.

1.7.3. Electrolytes

It is the electrolyte that burns in a supercapacitor just as it is in lithium-ion batteries. In both cases

the traditional electrolytes are wet and toxic (eg giving off HCN that can kill in an enclosed space) in

the main. Accordingly, solid/ gel polymer electrolytes were developed for both that lack the toxicity.

They can still be flammable but to less an extent than volatile acetonitrile and they are usually not

subject to the stringent regulations restricting transport and use of large acetonitrile

supercapacitors. With supercapacitors things have gone farther than with batteries, so many

manufacturers now offer, usually exclusively, aqueous electrolytes such as sufuric acid. They have

very little restriction concerning disposal after use. The choice of electrolytes is therefore

acetonitrile, which is alleged to cause birth defects and cancer, and a rapidly increasing percentage

of companies that offer aqueous electrolytes or the relatively new ionic liquids that are inherently

ionically conductive, needing no solvent. The distribution is shown below

Incidence of acetonitrile, aqueous electrolytes/solid polymer electrolytes and ionic liquids by

number of supercapacitor and supercabattery manufacturer using them.

Fig. 1.10 Incidence of manufacturers of various types of supercapacitor and variant by operating principle

Acetonitrile51%

Aqueous43%

Ionicliquid6%

Source IDTechEx


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1.7.4. Solid electrolytes

In March 2013, it was announced that scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed

the first high-performance, nanostructured solid electrolyte for more energy-dense lithium ion

batteries.

Today's lithium-ion batteries rely on a liquid electrolyte, the material that conducts ions between

the negatively charged anode and positive cathode. But liquid electrolytes often entail safety issues

because of their flammability, especially as researchers try to pack more energy in a smaller

battery volume. Building batteries with a solid electrolyte, as ORNL researchers have

demonstrated, could overcome these safety concerns and size constraints.

"To make a safer, lightweight battery, we need the design at the beginning to have safety in mind,"

said ORNL's Chengdu Liang, who led the newly published study in the Journal of the American

Chemical Society. "We started with a conventional material that is highly stable in a battery system

- in particular one that is compatible with a lithium metal anode."

The ability to use pure lithium metal as an anode could ultimately yield batteries five to 10 times

more powerful than current versions, which employ carbon based anodes.

"Cycling highly reactive lithium metal in flammable organic electrolytes causes serious safety

concerns," Liang said. "A solid electrolyte enables the lithium metal to cycle well, with highly

enhanced safety."

The ORNL team developed its solid electrolyte by manipulating a material called lithium

thiophosphate so that it could conduct ions 1,000 times faster than its natural bulk form. The

researchers used a chemical process called nanostructuring, which alters the structure of the

crystals that make up the material.

"Think about it in terms of a big crystal of quartz vs. very fine beach sand," said coauthor Adam

Rondinone. "You can have the same total volume of material, but it's broken up into very small

particles that are packed together. It's made of the same atoms in roughly the same proportions,

but at the nanoscale the structure is different. And now this solid material conducts lithium ions at

a much greater rate than the original large crystal."

The researchers are continuing to test lab scale battery cells, and a patent on the team's invention

is pending.

"We use a room-temperature, solution-based reaction that we believe can be easily scaled up,"

Rondinone said. "It's an energy-efficient way to make large amounts of this material."

For information about industry collaboration opportunities, please visit the ORNL Partnerships

website at http://www.ornl.gov/adm/partnerships/index.shtml

http://www.ornl.gov/adm/partnerships/index.shtml


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The study is published as "Anomalous High Ionic Conductivity of Nanoporous ß-Li3PS4," and its

ORNL coauthors are Zengcai Liu, Wujun Fu, Andrew Payzant, Xiang Yu, Zili Wu, Nancy Dudney, Jim

Kiggans, Kunlun Hong, Adam Rondinone and Chengdu Liang. The work was sponsored by the

Division of Materials Sciences and Engineering in DOE's Office of Science.

The materials synthesis and characterization were supported by the Center for Nanophase

Materials Sciences at ORNL. CNMS is one of the five DOE Nanoscale Science Research Centers

supported by the DOE Office of Science, premier national user facilities for interdisciplinary

research at the nanoscale. Together the NSRCs comprise a suite of complementary facilities that

provide researchers with state-of-the-art capabilities to fabricate, process, characterize and model

nanoscale materials, and constitute the largest infrastructure investment of the National

Nanotechnology Initiative. The NSRCs are located at DOE's Argonne, Brookhaven, Lawrence

Berkeley, Oak Ridge and Sandia and Los Alamos national laboratories. For more information about

the DOE NSRCs, please visit http://science.energy.gov/bes/suf/user-facilities/nanoscale-science-

research-centers/ . ORNL is managed by UT-Battelle for the Department of Energy's Office of

Science.

1.8. Achieving the impossible

In many cases something previously impossible is achieved by introducing supercapacitors. In

others, the performance of an existing component is enhanced by having a supercapacitor across it

or by replacing it. Here are some examples.


supercapacitors

Source IDTechEx

http://science.energy.gov/bes/suf/user-facilities/nanoscale-science-research-centers/

http://science.energy.gov/bes/suf/user-facilities/nanoscale-science-research-centers/


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Relative to electrolytic capacitors, previously the capacitors with highest energy density,

supercapacitors have few of the above advantages. Here their advantages mainly relate to higher

capacitance and power density than the best capacitors in this respect and, for very high

capacitance, sometimes lower cost partly due to the mounting, connection and enclosure costs of

the equivalent huge array of electrolytic capacitors, which bring with them many extra failure

modes and even greater size if they are to be non-polar like most supercapacitors. However, there

are far fewer market opportunities in this as opposed to replacing or partly replacing batteries.

Only a few years ago, the major automotive and railway rolling stock manufacturers rarely saw

supercapacitors as part of their toolkit. However, nowadays almost all of them do. A Siemens view

presented in 2012 of the elements of Electrical Bus Rapid Transit eBRT, for example, mentioned

supercapacitors as part of the new design toolkit. Below we give just a few examples of the way in

which supercapacitors and their variants are replacing, or partly replacing other components,

particularly rechargeable batteries, this despite their energy density being inferior as yet. As energy

density improves – a priority we have observed in research – the pace of replacing batteries will

quicken.

Table 1.3 15 examples of component displacement by supercapacitors in 2012-3

Use Action Result Effect on

battery or

capacitor

market

Pure

electric

and fuel

cell

bikes,

cars,

buses,

material

handling

vehicles,

earth

moving

vehicles,

trucks,

trams,

trains,

cranes

and

military

vehicles

Put across

the battery –

typically

lithium-ion

batteries - or

fuel cell

Faster charging stations and regenerative braking, energy harvesting shock absorbers etc

can be used without damaging the battery. Sometimes more of the battery’s energy can be

used ie the battery can be used to a deeper state of discharge, extending the range of the

vehicle. In the case of fuel cells, it compensates for start-up time and provides surges of

power for eg starting off with a vehicle, accelerating or climbing a hill or earthmoving or

heavy lifting. Fuel cells and batteries have poor power density. In a system that eliminates an

internal combustion engine, you get little or no noise, land or air pollution. Military vehicles

have almost no heat or gas signature for missiles to home in on. Below and left: Mazda pure

electric car adds a supercapacitor across the Nippon Chemi-Con battery to protect it and

enhance performance.

Source IDTechEx

Bollore Pininfarina Bluecar below is a pure electric car which has a Batscap supercapacitor

to enhance performance and protect the battery. Bollore has introduced the Blue Car and it

is commercially available for daily rentals. The version currently on the road does not use

ultracapacitors, but is battery only. The next version is intended to use caps as well as being

available for sale to consumers.

Lithium-ion

battery

market

reduced in

value

compared

with the

partial

alternative

of over-

sizing the

battery.


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battery or

capacitor

market

Source Bollore

The Kleenspeed KAR pure electric prototype shown below also has a supercapacitor across

the battery.

Source Kleenspeed

Below: the Riversimple car in the UK replaces the lithium-ion battery across its fuel cell

with a Maxwell Technologies supercapacitor.


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battery or

capacitor

market

Source IDTechEx

Replacing

one of the

lead acid

batteries in a

truck for

cold starting

eg -20C to -

40C when

the lead acid

battery can

release no

more than

half its

power

Truck almost always starts even in the coldest weather and after the hotel facilities have

been used overnight with the engine off. New regulations often ban engine idling.

Source IDTechEx

Reduces the

lead acid

battery

market

Completely

replacing all

batteries in a

pure electric

vehicle

where

frequent

recharging is

practicable

to compen-

Longer life and faster charge and discharge at higher up front cost but possibly lower cost-

over-life due to tolerating tougher duty cycle with less maintenance and longer life.

Improved safety and reliability and almost no maintenance. Sinautec bus with

supercapacitors and no battery picking up overhead power at bus stop.

Lithium-ion

battery

market is

reduced in

value:

batteries not

needed


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battery or

capacitor

market

sate for the

energy

density being

no better

than that of a

lead-acid

battery today

(a limitation

that will not

exist at some

time in the

future)

Source Sinautec

Hybrid

electric

vehicles

Replacing

the battery in

a hybrid

electric

vehicle like

this one in

Russia

shown right

that uses

ELIT super

capacitors

and the MAN

Lion’s City

Hybrid bus in

Germany

that also

uses a

super-

capacitor

instead of a

battery

shown.

Source ELIT

Reduces the

market for

lithium-ion

batteries


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battery or

capacitor

market

Source MAN presentation at IAA Electric Vehicle Congress Hannover 2012

The Toyota hybrid TS030 racing car below was a winner in 2012 with Nisshinbo

supercapacitors replacing the battery

Source Toyota

Light

Train

Uses super-

capacitor

energy

storage to

operate

without an

external

power

Wireless operation seen as cheaper and less visually-intrusive than conventional

electrification. Demonstrated August 2012. Commercial production by 2014 - viable for use

in more than 100 smaller and medium-sized Chinese cities, as well as export.


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battery or

capacitor

market

supply.

Underfloor

power pick-

ups 30 sec

(2km) charge

the roof-

mounted

super

capacitor

unit from a

fixed supply

while train is

standing at

station.

Energy re-

generated

during

braking is

recovered

for reuse.

Source CSR Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive

Siemens has something similar in Germany with a supercapacitor set across a NiMH battery

in a streetcar that can cover 2.5km untethered. Again regenerative braking is made possible.

Power consumption reduced by one third and carbon dioxide sharply down. Overhead power

cables removed from where they are a visual blight and where they are a problem at

intersections.

Genève tram operator TPG is testing a prototype supercapacitor energy storage unit which

allows braking energy to be recovered, and enables a tram to run for short distances without

an external power supply.

Source Tango Trams

The 1 tonne supercapacitor unit has been installed on the roof of one of a batch of 32 Tango

trams being delivered to TPG by Stadler Rail. It can store the equivalent of the entire kinetic

energy of an empty tram moving at 55 km/h, according to Stadler, and is more effective than

batteries at absorbing and releasing the high short-term currents produced during braking.

Energy regenerated during braking is reused as the vehicle starts to move, when its power

requirement is highest. The stored energy can also power the tram for at least 400 m if the

overhead supply should fail. A distance of 1500 m has been achieved with careful driving

under low-acceleration, low-speed test conditions.

The prototype is undergoing extensive testing by TPG, Stadler and traction equipment

supplier ABB. Its energy consumption is being compared with the rest of the Tango fleet

equipped for conventional regenerative braking which feeds current back into the overhead

supply. If the tests prove successful, the other 31 Tango vehicles for TPG could be equipped

with supercapacitors 'relatively easily'. Source of the Geneva story: Railway Gazette

Wind

turbine

Pitch control

when

electrics fail

Replacing

previous

emergency

backup such

as a lithium-

ion

rechargeable

battery or a

lithium

thionyl

chloride

battery with

Faster more reliable pitch control backup prevents explosive destruction of the turbine in a

high wind if electrics fail

Reduces the

market for

lithium-ion

or other

back-up

batteries


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battery or

capacitor

market

conventional

capacitors

.

Metal

forming

and

welding

Replacing

banks of

electrolytic

capacitors in

a much

smaller

space

provided the

longer time

constant is

tolerable

Smaller, lighter weight equipment Reduces

capacitor

market

Camera

flash eg

in mobile

phones

Replacing

electrolytic

capacitor/

halogen bulb

with super

capacitor/

high power

LED

Flash pictures can be taken from farther away because more energy can be discharged

within the severe space constraints

Source Murata

Reduces

electro-

lytic

capacitor

market

Cordless

drill with

except-

ional fast

charging

Replacing

lithium-ion

battery

Cordless drill for use in space developed by NASA with supercapacitors and no battery.

Commercial versions are now available from such companies as Demain International sold

through Top Link Industrial Co. as are battery free flashlights etc. Benefits include long,

maintenance-free life with lower cost of ownership, faster charging and greener credentials

in some cases.

Replaces

lithium-ion

batteries


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battery or

capacitor

market

Source NASA

Source IDTechEx

The basic functions can be summarised as reaching market acceptance in the following sequence,

with a few notable exceptions. Most of these functions can be seen commercially now but we are

forecasting when major supercapacitor business will result from them and suppliers currently

obtaining major sales in these.


companies leading the success by sector

Energy regeneration/ energy harvesting and surge power, particularly by battery enhancement and protection in road vehicles, material handling.

Backup power, notably for emergencies, and peak assist

Start up and peak assist power eg for fuel cells, office machines, remote metering

Energy regeneration/ energy harvesting and surge power, by fuel cell enhancement and protection

Pulse power for radar, welding, metal forming, camera flash etc and high frequency uses in electronics

Main traction power, particularly vehicles and load moving

Maxwell Technologies Nippon ChemiCon Batscap

Maxwell Technologies Nesscap LSMtron

Nesscap Energy LSMtron

Maxwell Technologies Ioxus JM Energy Skeleton Technologies

Nesscap Energy Yunasko Cap-XX Murata

LithChem Energy JM Energy Skeleton Technologies Asahi Kasei/FDK Hitachi Kankyu

Source IDTechEx

It is therefore unlikely that the current largest manufacturers, with Maxwell Technologies in the

lead, will stay in that position over the next ten years. However, it is too early to bet on who, if

2013 2018 2023


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anyone, will take their place. It is likely to include acquisitive companies offering broad capability

including high energy density, non-flammable, cleaner devices and other attributes in an affordable

package for electrical engineering applications and marketing and possibly manufacturing them

globally. With the winner having one billion dollars in sales within 15 years, this race is starting to

attract some very large companies.

1.9. Manufacturers and putative

manufacturers

We have investigated the following manufacturers and putative manufacturers and also others in

the value chain, the work taking place almost entirely in the last quarter of 2012 with following

updates and extensions.


supercapacitors, supercabatteries and carbon-enhanced lead batteries for commercialisation

with country, website and device technology.

EDLC = Symmetric supercapacitor

LiC = Supercabattery based on lithium

PbC = Supercabattery or carbon-enhanced battery based on lead battery

AEDLCNi = Supercabattery based on nickel battery

PseudoC = Pseudocapacitor RuO2 part electrostatic, part electrochemical

TaHybrid = Tantalum electrolytic/ supercapacitor construction

CNT = carbon nanotube. Gp = Graphene.

Yellow = not yet trading

Company Country Website Technology

1. ABSL EnerSys UK http://www.abslspaceproducts.com http://www.enersys.com EDLC carbon

2. Ada

Technologies

USA http://www.adatech.com EDLC carbon

3. Advanced

Capacitor

Technologies

Japan http://www.act.jp/eng/ LiC

4. ApowerCap

Technologies

Ukraine http://www.apowercap.com EDLC carbon

5. Asahi Kasei –

FDK

Japan http://www.fdk.co.jp LiC

6. AVX USA

(Mexico)

http://www.avx.com EDLC carbon

7. Axion Power

International

USA www.axionpower.com PbC

8. Bainacap China www.bainacap.com EDLC carbon

9. Batscap

(Bollore)

France http://www.batscap.com/en EDLC carbon

10. Beijing HCC

Energy Tech

China www.hccenergy.com/en EDLC carbon

11. Cap-XX Australia http://www.cap-xx.com EDLC carbon

12. CDE Cornell

Dubilier

USA www.cde.com LiC

EDLC carbon

http://www.abslspaceproducts.com/

http://www.adatech.com/

http://www.act.jp/eng/

http://www.apowercap.com/

http://www.fdk.co.jp/

http://www.avx.com/

http://www.axionpower.com/

http://www.bainacap.com/

http://www.batscap.com/en

http://www.hccenergy.com/en

http://www.cap-xx.com/

http://www.cde.com/


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13. Cellergy

owned by PCB

technologies,

part of Prior

Tech Group

Israel www.cellergycap.com EDLC carbon

14. Chaoyang

Liyuan New

Energy (Liyuan

Company)

China www.cyliyuan.com EDLC carbon

LiC

15. Cooper

Bussmann

USA www.cooperindustries.com EDLC carbon

16. Daying Juneng

Technology

and

Development

China http://www.alibaba.com/trade/search?fsb=y&IndexArea=product_en&Ca

tId=&SearchText=Daying+Juneng+Technology+and+Development

EDLC carbon

17. Dongguan

Amazing

Electronic

China http://amazing.en.alibaba.com/contactinfo.html

EDLC carbon

18. Dongguan

Fuhui

Electronics

Sales

China http://winwinsupercap.en.alibaba.com/contactinfo.html EDLC carbon

19. Dongguan

Gonghe

Electronics

China http://worldghc.en.alibaba.com/contactinfo.html

Dongguan City GHC Electronic Co., Ltd (Domestic market)

http://www.kingep.com/

http://www.kingep.com/info/en/index.asp?page=30&id=95&Iss=3&pic=13

EDLC carbon

20. Dongguan WIN

WIN Supercap

Electronic

China http://www.diytrade.com/china/manufacturer/1160302/main/Dongguan_

WIN-WIN_Supercap_Electronic_Co_Ltd.html

EDLC carbon

21. East Penn

Manufacturing

Co.

USA www.dekabatteries.com PbC

22. Ecoult (East

Penn)

USA

(Australia)

www.ecoult.com EDLC carbon

23. Elbit Systems Israel www.elbitsystems.com EDLC carbon

PbC

PseudoC

24. ELIT Russia www.elit-cap.com EDLC carbon

25. Elna Japan www.elna.co.jp EDLC carbon

26. Elton Super

Capacitor

(ESMA)

Russia www.elton-cap.com

www.esma.com

EDLC carbon AEDLCNi

27. Evans

Capacitor

Company

USA www.evanscap.com TaHybrid

PseudoC

EDLC

28. Extreme

Capacitors X-

Caps

USA www.extremecapacitor.com EDLC carbon (Gp &

CNT)

29. FastCAP

Systems

USA www.fastcapsystems.com EDLC carbon CNT

30. FDK Japan www.fdk.com LiC

31. Furukawa

Battery Co

Japan www.furukawadenchi.co.jp PbC

32. Graphene

Energy Inc

USA www.grapheneenergy.net EDLC carbon Gp

33. Harbin Jurong

Newpower

China www.jurong-newpower.com.cn

http://www.iecyp.com/Heilongjiang/61601.html

EDLC carbon

34. Heter Battery/

Handong

Heter Battery

China www.heterbattery.com EDLC carbon

35. Honda Japan www.world.honda.com EDLC carbon

36. Hitachi

(Hitachi Maxell

Japan www.hitachi.com LiC

http://www.cellergycap.com/

http://www.cyliyuan.com/

http://www.cooperindustries.com/

http://www.alibaba.com/trade/search?fsb=y&IndexArea=product_en&CatId=&SearchText=Daying+Juneng+Technology+and+Development


http://amazing.en.alibaba.com/contactinfo.html

http://winwinsupercap.en.alibaba.com/contactinfo.html

http://worldghc.en.alibaba.com/contactinfo.html



http://www.diytrade.com/china/manufacturer/1160302/main/Dongguan_WIN-WIN_Supercap_Electronic_Co_Ltd.html


http://www.dekabatteries.com/

http://www.ecoult.com/

http://www.elbitsystems.com/

http://www.elit-cap.com/

http://www.elna.co.jp/

http://www.elton-cap.com/

http://www.esma.com/

http://www.evanscap.com/

http://www.extremecapacitor.com/

http://www.fastcapsystems.com/

http://www.fdk.com/

http://www.furukawadenchi.co.jp/

http://www.grapheneenergy.net/

http://www.jurong-newpower.com.cn/


http://www.heterbattery.com/

http://www.world.honda.com/

http://www.hitachi.com/


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and Hitachi

AIC)

37. Hutchinson

(Total group)

France www.cdt.hutchinson.fr

EDLC carbon

38. Illinois

Capacitor

USA www.illcap.com EDLC carbon

39. Inmatech USA www.inmatech.com LiC based on early

transition metal

carbides and nitrides

40. Ioxus USA www.ioxus.com EDLC carbon

LiC

41. JM Energy

(JSR Micro)

Japan www.jmenergy.co.jp LiC

42. KAM China www.kam.co.uk EDLC carbon

43. Kankyu

Batteries

Japan No website LiC

44. Korchip Korea www.korchip.com EDLC carbon

45. LithChem

Energy

USA www.lithchemenergy.com/ EDLC carbon

46. LSMtron Korea www.ultracapacitor.co.kr

www.lsmtron.com/

EDLC carbon

47. Maxwell

Technologies

USA www.maxwell.com EDLC carbon

Researching AEDLC

and CNT

48. MegaJoule

Storage

USA www.megajouleinc.com

PbC AEDLC

49. Meidensha/

Sumitomo

Electric

industries use

JM Energy LiC

Japan www.meidensha.co.jp EDLC carbon

LiC

50. Murata Japan www.murata.com EDLC carbon

51. Nanotune

Technologies

USA www.nanotune.com EDLC carbon Gp

52. NEC Tokin Japan www.nec-tokin.com EDLC carbon

LiC

53. Nesscap

Energy Inc

Canada

(Korea)

www.nesscap.com EDLC carbon

54. Nichicon Japan www.nichicon.co.jp EDLC carbon

55. Nippon

Chemi-con/

United

ChemiCon

Japan www.chemi-con.co.jp

www.chemi-con.com

EDLC carbon

56. Nisshinbo Japan www.nisshinbo.co.jp EDLCCarbon

57. Optixtal USA www.optixtal.com EDLC carbon

58. Panasonic Japan www.panasonic.net EDLC carbon

59. Paper Battery

Company

USA www.paperbatteryco.com EDLC carbon

60. PowerSystem

Co

Japan www.powersystems.co.jp EDLC carbon

61. Quantum

Wired

USA www.quantumwired.com EDLC carbon

62. Ryan

Technology

Taiwan www.ryan-technology.com EDLC carbon

63. SAFT France www.saftbatteries.com EDLC carbon

AEDLCNi

PseudoC

64. SAHZ Holdings

Sdn. Bhd

Malaysia www.nottingham.edu.my

EDLC

AEDLC

65. Shandong

Heter

Lampson

Electronic

China www.htlampson.com EDLC carbon

http://www.cdt.hutchinson.fr/

http://www.illcap.com/

http://www.inmatech.com/

http://www.ioxus.com/

http://www.jmenergy.co.jp/

http://www.kam.co.uk/

http://www.korchip.com/

http://www.lithchemenergy.com/

http://www.ultracapacitor.co.kr/

http://www.lsmtron.com/

http://www.maxwell.com/

http://www.megajouleinc.com/

http://www.meidensha.co.jp/

http://www.murata.com/

http://www.nanotune.com/

http://www.nec-tokin.com/

http://www.nesscap.com/

http://www.nichicon.co.jp/

http://www.chemi-con.co.jp/

http://www.chemi-con.com/

http://www.nisshinbo.co.jp/

http://www.optixtal.com/

http://www.panasonic.net/

http://www.paperbatteryco.com/

http://www.powersystems.co.jp/

http://www.quantumwired.com/

http://www.ryan-technology.com/

http://www.saftbatteries.com/

http://www.nottingham.edu.my/

http://www.htlampson.com/


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66. Shanghai

Aowei

Technology

Development

China www.aowei.com EDLC carbon

67. Shanghai

Green Tech

China www.greentechee.com EDLC carbon

68. Shanghai

Power Oriental

International

Trade

China www.poweroriental.cn EDLC carbon

69. Shenzhen

Forecon Super

Capacitor

Technology

China www.forecon.hk EDLC carbon

70. Sino Power

Star

China http://www.spscap.com EDLC carbon

71. Skeleton

Technologies

Estonia www.skeletontech.com EDLC carbon

72. SPL USA www.splusa.net EDLC carbon

73. Taiyo Yuden Japan www.t-yuden.com LiC

74. Tavrima Canada www.tavrima.com EDLC carbon

75. TDK inc

EPCOS

Japan www.tdk.com EDLC carbon

76. Tecate Group USA www.tecategroup.com EDLC carbon

Makes PowerburstTM

But also resells

Maxwell and Cap-XX

versions

77. Vina

Technology Co

Korea www.vina-technology-co-ltd.imexbb.com EDLC carbon

78. WIMA

Spezialvertrieb

Elektronischer

Bauelemente

Germany www.wima.com EDLC carbon

79. Yo-

Engineering

Russia www.yo-auto.ru EDLC carbon

80. Yunasko UK

(Ukraine)

www.yunasko.com EDLC carbon

LiC

Source IDTechEx

Trend in number of manufacturers

The number of manufacturers of supercapacitors and supercabatteries is rising rapidly as

estimated below, being a later stage technology, supercapacitors and supercabatteries will only

reach 150 manufacturers in 2020, this being approximately the number of manufacturers of

lithium-ion batteries today.

http://www.aowei.com/

http://www.greentechee.com/

http://www.poweroriental.cn/

http://www.forecon.hk/

http://www.spscap.com/

http://www.skeletontech.com/

http://www.splusa.net/

http://www.t-yuden.com/

http://www.tavrima.com/

http://www.tdk.com/

http://www.tecategroup.com/

http://www.vina-technology-co-ltd.imexbb.com/

http://www.wima.com/

http://www.yo-auto.ru/

http://www.yunasko.com/


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Fig. 1.12 Estimate of the number of trading manufacturers of supercapacitors and supercabatteries globally

1993-2025 including timing of industry shakeout.

200 200 Industry shakeout – failures

and mergers

130

80

50

30 20

10 1993 1998 2003 2008 2013 2018 2023 2025

Source IDTechEx

1.10. New entrants

There are new entrants to the supercapacitor business coming along and they tend to be larger

companies than most of those involved so far. For example, Corning is developing a supercapacitor

with “50% greater energy density”. They are tight lipped about what this value is and how they will

achieve it. It is the reason why Corning is part of the European Commission FP7 program called

ESTRELIA. We expect that Corning will seek to be a materials supplier once its new technology is

established.

1.11. Supercapacitors and lithium-ion batteries

are now one business

Supercapacitors (Electrochemical Double Layer Capacitors EDLC also known as ultracapacitors)

and lithium-ion batteries are one business, from the basic materials to the current and planned

applications. However, the penny has not dropped with most of the industry. Very few of the eighty

or so supercapacitor manufacturers in the world make lithium-ion batteries and very few of the 150

or so lithium-ion battery manufacturers make supercapacitors even though this would give them a

more comprehensive offering to customers, derisk their businesses and reduce their production

costs.


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Even more bizarrly, the popularly-researched halfway house of the supercabattery is substantially

populated by new entrants that make neither supercapacitors nor lithium-ion batteries such as the

Asahi Kasei joint venture, LM Energy and Advanced Capacitor Technologies all in Japan and

Inmatech in the USA. We can even say that the nascent business of so-called lithium-metal

batteries such as lithium metal polymer and later lithium air batteries are also in the same fold.

These are sometimes called rechargeable lithium batteries to distinguish them from lithium-ion.

One reason why supercapacitors and lithium-based rechargeable batteries are almost entirely

made by different companies lies in the fact that most lithium-ion battery manufacturers – the

biggest sector by far – are under-financed and not meeting targets. The over promising concerning

sales into pure electric cars is a part of this and, “when you are up to your neck in crocodiles you

cannot think about draining the swamp.”

Similar challenges and opportunities

There are many common factors and so it is not surprising that the challenges and opportunities

are similar as well. Both devices are usually wound components with separators, wet electrolytes

that are usually toxic and flammable and at least one aluminium foil electrode. Carbon is

traditionally favoured on at least one electrode. Slot coating of active electrode material is favoured

and encapsulation is in a cylinder, pouch or metal box – so-called prismatic. Energy density, power

density, self-leakage, life, reliability and cost are among the parameters of concern for both

devices, not surprising since they increasingly address the same applications.

Intermediate devices

The intermediate devices variously include pseudocapacitors and supercabatteries (Assymetrical

Electrochemical Double Layer Capacitors AEDLC with either the anode or, more commonly, the

cathode being battery-like). Although much of the early work on these involved asymmetric lead-

acid and nickel devices, the favourite variant is now the “lithium capacitor” which is an AEDLC with

one electrode based on a lithium-ion battery. Further sub-segmentation acknowledges the

existence of high power lithium-ion batteries and high energy density lithium-ion batteries, given a

trade-off here. It is therefore ridiculous to agonise about where these all sit in the industry and

whether AEDLCs are a distinct category – they are all part of the supercapacitor/ lithium-ion

battery industry. Indeed, it is rare for the lithium-ion capacitor manufacturers to discuss

applications other than those currently addressed by supercapacitors or lithium-ion batteries.

Equipment suitable for both devices

In general the equipment manufacturers for lithium-ion batteries now offer the same or very

similar equipment to manufacture supercapacitors. Indeed, the whole value chain increasingly

covers both devices from the research institutes and universities worldwide to those supplying foil,

slitters and test equipment and distributors selling both types of component. But not thosemaking

the finished devices. Exploiting the false distinction that keeps companies in one or other type of

device manufacture, not both, current supercapacitor leader Maxwell Technologies in the USA

licences its solvent-free supercapacitor manufacturing process to lithium ion battery

manufacturers.


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Koem in Korea manufactures automatic winding machine and assembly equipment, “mainly used

in manufacturing the new generating power sources, such as lithium ion secondary cells and

supercapacitors”. In Switzerland, METAR develops and manufactures machines and equipment

“for the production of capacitors and batteries (Li-Ion)”. PNE has announced a single “formation

system for battery and EDLC”. Both supercapacitor and lithium-ion battery manufacturers would

go to Armor Group in France or Exopack Advanced Holdings in the USA if they needed the best one

micron pre-coating of carbon elastomer on their current collector, in order to reduce series

resistance, improve adhesion of the active electrode or provide chemical protection. Showa Denko

offers specialist materials for the manufacture of both lithium-ion batteries and supercapacitors,

patents both and its recent license of printed electronics technology from Novacentrix in the USA

will apply to both.

Similar approach to next generation materials

Graphene and other relatively advanced allotropes of carbon are of interest for both families of

device. In both supercapacitors and lithium-ion batteries, fires can occur in the toxic organic

electrolyte and having that electrolyte limits performance in certain respects. As a result, many in

both camps enthuse about ionic liquids where there is no solvent or solute, though it must be said

that non-flammable aqueous electrolytes have appeared commercially almost entirely in

supercapacitors and not lithium-ion batteries. On the other hand, most lithium-ion battery

manufacturers enjoy the higher energy density from foil that is 15 microns or less in thickness, five

microns being considered, whereas supercapacitor manufacturers are only gradually getting round

to it, many of them using the 40 micron foil employed by lithium-ion manufacturers many years ago.

There is more on this in the IDTechEx reports “138 Lithium-ion Battery Manufacturers”,

“Electrochemical Double Layer Capacitors: Supercapacitors 2013-2023”, “Supercapacitor /

Ultracapacitor Strategies and Emerging Applications 2013-2025”, “Batteries and Supercapacitors

for Smart Portable Devices 2013-2023: Markets, Technologies, Companies”, “ Graphene: Analysis

of Technology, Markets and Players 2013-2018” and “Carbon Nanotubes (CNT) for Electronics &

Electrics 2013-2023”.

What next?

Will Panasonic of Japan, Hitachi of Japan and SAFT of France, among the few companies making

both supercapacitos and lithium-ion batteries exploit their potentially common R&D and production

investment? One sign of the future is how Bolloré subsidiary Batscap in France makes both

supercapacitors and lithium metal polymer traction batteries. It has progressed from using just the

lithium-ion battery in its pure electric Bluecar to having the supercapacitor across it in the last few

months to improve charge-discharge time and to make the battery last longer. Some of the next

wave of manufacturers of devices intend to make both, the start-up “The Paper Battery Company”

in the USA being an example. Meanwhile giants such as Fuji Heavy Industries Japan, Toyota Japan

and LG Chemical Korea continue to file patents for both supercapacitors and lithium-ion batteries

while prioritising production of lithium-ion batteries.


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Heavy users of both, such as Bombardier, have noted that supercapacitors are being improved far

faster than batteries and IDTechEx and other analysts have forecasted faster growth for the

supercapacitor industry at around 30% compound, following recent trends in manufacturer’s

results but the lithium-ion market is much larger of course. Supercapacitors have replaced

lithium-ion batteries in most hybrid urban buses, a fuel cell car, some power tools and for wind

turbine blade feathering in emergency as well as in other high reliability backup applications. The

case for betting on both horses becomes stronger by the day.

1.12. Change of leadership of the global value

market?

Maxwell Technologies, which has been the leader in supercapacitors worldwide, has been

overstating its results by improperly recording certain sales through distributors. It has made the

following statement, “Maxwell believes that the restatement of revenue related to these

distributors will decrease previously reported revenues for fiscal year 2011 by approximately $6.5

million and decrease revenues in the first three quarters of 2012 by approximately $5.5 million in

the aggregate." Most of Maxwell’s overall revenue relates to supercapacitor sales, so how does this

affect supercapacitor market forecasts? Leading analyst IDTechEx has been looking again at the

figures and it concludes that Maxwell is not indicative of the overall industry.

The number of developers and manufacturers of supercapacitors, also called ultracapacitors, is

rising very rapidly, having doubled from 40 to 80 in the last few years. All are taking some business,

so Maxwell is losing market share. Although most of the business is taken by supercapacitors

containing toxic, flammable acetonitrile, we are now very near to the point where we over 50% of

manufacturers offer devices based on non-flammable, relatively non-toxic electrolytes, many of

them aqueous. Others use improved organic electrolytes and solid electrolytes are on the way.

Many of those in these various technologies are likely to gain market share because they have

improved safety and often improved performance in certain aspects as well.

The supercapacitor industry is rapidly moving to one where the leaders are big companies make

big investments in the technology and where they sell to big companies. For example, CSR Zhuzhou

Electric Locomotive in China has unveiled a prototype light metro trainset which uses

supercapacitor energy storage to operate without an external power supply. Sooner or later,

Chinese supercapacitor manufacturers will get this business. Under floor power pick-ups charge

the roof-mounted supercapacitor unit from a fixed supply while the train is at a station. Charging

takes 30 seconds and can power the train for 2 kilometers. Energy regenerated during braking is

recovered for reuse. Commercial production is envisaged by 2014, with the manufacturer believing

the technology could be viable for use in more than 100 smaller and medium-sized Chinese cities,

as well as for the export market


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The largest orders for supercapacitors are no longer being landed by Maxwell Technologies. For

example, there has never been anything like the Meidensha/Sojitz $318 million (¥25bn) contract to

supply two 2 MW Meidensha CapapostTM regenerated energy storage units for Hong Kong's South

Island Line metro project. Sojitz is not involved in the supercapacitor banks in this system, which

also includes transformers and switchgear. The installation of the supercapacitor technology is

expected to reduce traction power consumption by 10% on the 7.1 km five-station line, which is

under construction to connect Admiralty with South Horizons from 2015. Compare that with

Maxwell Technologies’ faltering gross sales value in supercapacitors of the order of $100 million.

In collaboration with Sumitomo, in 2015, Meidensha will put supercapacitors with 3.4 times today’s

energy density into volume production, the target after that being five times and that may mean half

the energy density of today’s lithium-ion batteries, though the company does not release figures.

IDTechEx believes that, subject to price, such devices could make a dent in the lithium-ion battery

business not just expand supercapacitor sales, since a supercapacitor is in many respects and

ideal “battery”, something real batteries can never attain and increasingly cost over life will be

superior not just life – “fit and forget”.

These very advanced Meidensha supercapacitors are completely different. The wound foil current

collectors are replaced by Sumitomo aluminium celmet porous plates. The active electrodes

consist of carbon nanotubes not the activated carbon that most manufacturers employ today. The

non-flammable electrolyte is an ionic liquid not the solvent/ solute approach of today that is usually

based on acetonitrile and employed by all of today’s leaders. The resulting Meidensha

supercapacitors have high energy and power density, with widened temperature range. They are

primarily targeted at electric vehicles, both hybrid and pure electric. Meidensha says they will

improve both acceleration and range and even permit faster braking energy regeneration. Samples

are being released in 2013. Their goal is to have the capacitor used in 30% of the green vehicles

sold in Japan and account for 50 billion yen (about $500 million) in sales by fiscal 2020.

Meidensha of japan sources supercapacitor modules from other suppliers but even here it is

pushing the boundaries. For example, Meidensha will deploy the Japanese JM Energy Corporation

ULTIMO TM supercabattery ie Asymmetric Electrochemical Double Layer Capacitor AEDLC. Its

variant of this is known as a lithium-ion capacitor and, in most respects, it is intermediate between

a lithium-ion battery and a symmetrical supercapacitor. To begin, these new cell designs have

formed the basis of a system for compensation of short-term power disruptions for Chubu Electric

Power Co., Inc. The system is designed to comprehensively protect plant manufacturing facilities

from electric power failure caused by lightning strikes and other causes. Upon confirmation of

reliability, Meidensha will commercialize the system starting 2014. Supercapacitor manufacturer

JSR Micro is linked to JM Energy. Such groupings seem likely to land the biggest supercapacitor/

supercabattery orders in future.

In short, Maxwell Technologies is being side-lined. IDTechEx sees no reason to revise its forecast

of robust 30% ongoing annual growth in the global market for supercapacitors and their variants.

They even record more and more cases of supercapacitors completely replacing batteries for


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traction and energy harvesting. Other supercapacitors are increasingly being put across batteries,

reducing the amount of battery needed, particularly in applications employing large lithium-ion

battery packs for traction. For more see the IDTechEx general report “Electrochemical Double

Layer Capacitors: Supercapacitors 2013-2023 and the drill down “Supercapacitor / Ultracapacitor

Strategies and Emerging Applications” which gives the technological roadmap and applications

resulting.

There is one other lesson from this story. Small companies like Maxwell Technologies are

attracted to take a listing because it gets them funding and prestige and an exit for early investors

but there is a price to pay. The intense attention to half year and even quarterly results is not

conducive to long term objectives and it diverts the attention of management. When reporting

errors arise, as in this case, all hell is let loose. Perhaps they should have stayed private.


39

2. Introduction Supercapacitors and their variants are known by about thirty different names. Those using search

engines prefer Electrochemical Double Layer Capacitors EDLC followed by supercapacitors and

then ultracapacitors. The electrical engineering applications that will dominate the value market

for the next decade typically employ the word ultracapacitor. The abbreviation EDLC is relatively

little used, unfortunately. For brevity, in this report we therefore use the words supercapacitor and

ultracapacitor interchangeably with precise terms used for the variants.

Here is where they fit in.

Fig. 2.1 Types of capacitor

Source IDTechEx


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Fig. 2.2 Symmetric supercapacitor EDLC left compared with asymmetric AEDLC ie supercabattery with

battery-like cathode (ie part electrochemical in action) shown right. During charge and discharge,

the voltage is nearly constant resulting in higher maximum voltage and twice the capacitance of

anordinary supercapacitor/ ultracapacitor

Source Web

Fig. 2.3 Symmetric supercapacitor EDLC compared with asymmetric AEDLC ie supercabattery with lithiated

carbon anode (ie entirely electrostatic in action) shown right

Source JM Energy

Supercapacitors are near-to-ideal batteries in many respects – properties batteries will never

achieve because of chemical reactions causing swelling and movement and irreversible chemical

changes. There are about 70 manufacturers of supercapacitors and an increasing proportion make

the “green” aqueous versions which are non-flammable and can contain such things as sulphuric

acid or may be more benign. The pros and cons are compared below.


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Table 2.2 Some of the pros and cons of supercapacitors

PRO CON

Can be fully discharged for safe transport.

Charge and discharge exceptionally rapidly.

Operate at wide temperature ranges: – nearly all the energy

available at -20C and some work at -40C

Have about four times the life (cycle or calendar life) “fit

and forget”.

Be more reliable.

They cost much more per energy stored.

They change electrical characteristics during charge,

discharge and life.

Those which have “organic” electrolyte usually contain

acetonitrile.

That is said to cause cancer and birth defects and is

flammable, sometimes creating poisonous gases. As a

result, the large organicsupercaps often have restrictions of

fire prevention, air transport and disposal (in the past,

organic versions have been best at low temperature & in

some performance/cost characteristics)

Source IDTechEx

Traditionally, the rechargeable batteries have been used as energy dense products and the other

devices based on capacitors have been used as power dense products. However, although there

are more-power-dense versions of the favourite rechargeable batteries – lithium-ion with maybe

70% or so of the rechargeable battery market in 2023 – there has still been a convergence of

properties and increasing use of super forms of capacitor with batteries. This is partly because

power dense rechargeable batteries surrender a lot of energy density and are still not as power

dense as most supercapacitors and their derivatives. The main options are summarised below. The

examples of manufacturers illustrate how battery manufacturers and conventional capacitor

manufacturers are entering the business of devices intermediate between the two. However, rather

surprisingly, most of the intermediate devices are developed and manufactured by companies not

in either conventional capacitors or batteries. Although we use the term intermediate devices,

some have some properties superior to both conventional capacitors and rechargeable batteries.


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Fig. 2.4 Eight families of option and some of the suppliers in the spectrum between conventional capacitors

and rechargeable batteries with primary markets shown in yellow

Conventional

symmetrical

(bipolar) solid

capacitor

Conventional

electrolytic

capacitor

Etched

aluminium foil

oxidised Al2O3

or sintered

tantalum

oxidised Ta2O5

“Hybrid

capacitor”

Super

Capacitor

electrode

plus

sintered

tantalum

oxide Ta2O5

electrode

Symmetric

Super-

Capacitor ie

Electrochemical

Double Layer

Cpacitor

Asymmetric intermediate devices Rechargeable

battery

Supercabattery ie

Asymmetric

Electrochemical Double

Layer Capacitor AEDLC

Pseudo-

Capacitor

eg RuO2

Nippon

Chemi-con

Nichicon

AVX

Nippon

Chemi-con

Nichicon

Evans Maxwell

Technologies

Nippon Chemi-

con

Nichicon

AVX

With

battery

anode and

supercap.

cathode

JRMicro

Panasonic

Batscap

With

battery

cathode

and

supercap

anode

East Penn

Evans

Capacitor

Panasonic

Batscap

Electrostatic

Partly electrostatic and

partly electrochemical

(faradaic)

Electro-

chemical

Source IDTechEx

Success by territory

Put at its simplest, the lesson of the extensive interviews and investigations carried out for this

report show that, if you want to create a large supercapacitor company, whatever else you do, you

sell into the automotive sector while working to increase energy density and reduce cost, if

necessary by making the variant called the lithium-ion capacitor. They will be a multi-billion dollar

business in 10 years mainly served by the USA, Russia, Japan, China and Korea, if current trends

continue. Europeans users but, as suppliers, fast asleep with little leadership beyond Estonia.

Indeed, the main reason that market leader Maxwell Technologies saw its supercapacitor sales

growth drop to single digits in 2012 was weakness in Europe.

This report goes beyond our first one on this subject.

Our report, “Electrochemical Double Layer Capacitors: Supercapacitors 2013-2023” introduced the

subject, gave overall market forecasts, examined the research trends, patents and achievements

and briefly profiled the manufacturers and putative manufacturers. By popular request, we now

INCREASING ENERGY DENSITY

INCREASING POWER DENSITY


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look much more closely at the applications today and when certain new applications will be

identified and taken seriously plus when currently-impracticable applications will become viable.

Yes, the market is limited as much by unimaginative copy-cat marketing as by technological

advance. This new report is based on extensive interviews and analysis.


45

3. Advances required and

progress identified The advances that will create the largest add-on markets by value will be the following in order of

importance.

Table 3.1 Advances that will create the largest add-on markets for supercapacitors and their derivatives by

value in order of importance with examples of organisations leading the advance.

Feature Examples of organisations leading, or claiming to lead, this advance

Affordable, greater gravimetric and, less important, volumetric energy density particularly because it will allow more batteries to be completely replaced and, where the supercapacitor is used across a battery to protect it and enhance its performance, less battery will be needed. Less battery means improved system reliability and potentially lower cost, not just improved performance

This is achieved by increasing cell voltage and/or capacitance because E=0.5CV2

Cell voltage records are being set by Vina Technology and Nisshinbo both at 3V and LithChem Energy 3.9V at present. C is increased primarily by increasing the usable active electrode area or making a supercabattery but there is also scope to move from thick current collectors, presently at up to 40 microns to thinner ones, maybe down to 5 microns. Those tackling electrode area successfully include State University of New York at Binghampton Elbit Systems Graphene Energy JR Micro Nanotune Technologies Skeleton Technologies University of Kentucky Yunasko

Lower price for existing capabilities Chinese suppliers Maxwell Technologies Inmatech ApowerCap Technologies

More imaginative marketing opening up new applications Nippon Chemi-Con Maxwell Technologies

Guaranteed 20 year life. The best supercapacitors probably last at least 20 years but commercial guarantees rarely exceed ten years and are often less.

JM Energy

Higher frequency of operation, improved pulse operation Evans Capacitor Cellergy Elbit Systems


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Feature Examples of organisations leading, or claiming to lead, this advance

Green, non-flammable versions with as good or better capabilities than the often flammable, poisonous organic versions, some of which contain liquids that can cause birth defects and cancer such as acetonitrile. In the past this has been less of a problem. This was because most were used in electronics with such small amounts of liquid that most regulations concerning transport of them, uses where they may be split open and disposal conditions were not onerous. However, now the electrical engineering applications dominate, usually with bigger supercapacitors containing more of the dangerous liquids such as acetonitrile, colliding with more of the existing regulations. In addition, research has revealed new malign physiological effects leading to greater caution and potentially tougher regulations

Advanced Capacitor Technology Asahi Kasei/FDK CDE Cornell Dubilier Cellergy Elbit Systems FDK Hitachi Inmatech Kankyu battery NEC Nichicon Nippon Chemi-Con Panasonic Power System Co. Taiyo Yuden Tavrima Vina Technology

Greater power density Case Western Reserve University Inmatech ApowerCap Technologies

Reduced self-leakage Reduce capacitance loss during discharge and during life University of West Florida New form factors such as smart skin, electronic wallpaper, stretchable, transfer printed, implantable, edible, dissolves in the human body

Paper Battery Company Advanced Biomimetic Sensors University of Texas at Dallas Imperial College London OptiXtal

Source IDTechEx

Today, the upfront cost of a supercapacitor is almost never lower than the component or circuit

replaced such as a tantalum or aluminium electrolytic capacitor or a battery. Despite this, the high

up front cost of a supercapacitor does not prevent the occurrence of cost saving over life for

systems where supercapacitors are introduced. This is partly because supercapacitors last longer

and take more punishment than batteries.

The main functions that supercapacitors will perform over the coming decade are shown below

with examples of appropriate applications. Relative to batteries, working at very low temperatures

and fast charging without fast discharging in a given application are less important than the other

functions and combinations of function shown relative to batteries. Note that most of them can be

described as electrical engineering rather than electronics, this being the trend in market value as

well. Pulse power and bridging power applications tend to combine high power density ie fast

charging and fast discharging relative to batteries.


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Fig. 3.1 The main functions that supercapacitors will perform over the coming decade

FAST DISCHARGE Pulse power & bridging power

Alone Alone

FAST CHARGE

LOW TEMPERATUREEG -40C

SAFETY, LONGLIFEHIGH RELIABILITY

MAINAPPLICATIONS

2013-2023

Source IDTechEx

These benefits are particularly useful in replacing, partially replacing, enhancing and extending the

life of rechargeable batteries.

Examples of the main functions performed by supercapacitors in 2013 are shown below.


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Fig. 3.2 Examples of the main functions performed by supercapacitors. Those in black are currently only

achieved with a flammable, carcinogenic electrolyte – acrylonitrile – but this will change

GSE = Airport ground support equipment such as aircraft tugs and baggage towing

ICE = Internal Combustion Engine

EV = Electric vehicle hybrid or pure electric, land, water or air

Source IDTechEx

3.1. Supercapacitors in vehicles

Clearly vehicles are a major focus because the properties of existing supercapacitors are

appropriate to many functions in vehicles. That was not true in the early days of supercapacitors

when only small versions were available and first applications were in electronics, notably CMOS

memory backup. A more detailed view of the vehicle market is shown below.


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applications in them today, where hybrids and pure electric versions are a primary target.

Source IDTechEx

In contrast to the massive success with pure electric e-bikes, which sometimes use

supercapacitors, forklifts, boats etc, pure electric on-road cars are a failure today. They sell

globally at a fraction of the number of even pure electric golf cars where demand is 150,000 yearly,

let alone pure electric power chairs and 3 and 4 wheel scooters for the disabled at around 1.3

million yearly or pure electric e-bikes at over 30 million yearly.


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Pure electric cars will attain the necessary affordable 320 -480 km/ 200-300 miles range in ten

years because there are so many development routes to this:

Lithium-ion batteries: Altria 300Wh/kg & Toyota 600Wh/kg?

Lithium metal batteries: IBM/Argonne, BASF/Sion, Kolibri, Oxis, Bollore Batscap <300WH/kg

so far

Graphene supercapacitors: several professors see 1000Wh/kg or more potential

Supercabatteries in the form of lithium-ion capacitors

Lots of little things including multiple energy harvesting, light weight aerodynamic bodies,

composites, more efficient and printed electrics save 40% of cost, space, weight ……………

However, although supercapacitors will have a part to play in the future success of pure electric

cars, we believe that will not be as the primary source of power even by the end of the coming

decade. Supercapacitors will be across the battery in a minority of cases. In our opinion, what will

cause the tipping point will be a combination of 1 and 5 in the main. A possible timeframe is shown

below.

Fig. 3.4 Possible timeframe and technology for reaching the tipping point for sales of pure electric on-road

cars

Source IDTechEx

Achieving the impossible

In many cases something previously impossible is achieved by introducing supercapacitors. In

others, the performance of an existing component is enhanced by having a supercapacitor across it

or by replacing it. Here are some examples.


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supercapacitors

Source IDTechEx

Relative to electrolytic capacitors, previously the capacitors with highest energy density,

supercapacitors have none of the above advantages. Here their advantages mainly relate to higher

capacitance and power density than the best capacitors in this respect and, for very high

capacitance sometimes lower cost partly due to the mounting, connection and enclosure costs of

the equivalent huge array of electrolytic capacitors, which bring with them many extra failure

modes and even greater size if they are to be non-polar like most supercapacitors. However, there

are far fewer market opportunities in this as opposed to replacing or partly replacing batteries.

Only a few years ago, the major automotive and railway rolling stock manufacturers rarely saw

supercapacitors as part of their toolkit. However, nowadays almost all of them do. Here is a

Siemens view in 2012 of the elements of Electrical Bus Rapid Transit eBRT, for example,

mentioning U-Caps meaning supercapacitors.


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Fig. 3.6 Siemens view in 2012 of the elements of Electrical Bus Rapid Transit eBRT, for example,

mentioning U-Caps meaning supercapacitors

Source Siemens


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Table 3.2 Examples of component displacement by supercapacitors.


battery or

capacitor

market

Pure

electric

and fuel

cell

bikes,

cars,

buses,

material

handling

vehicles,

earth

moving

vehicles,

trucks,

trams,

trains,

cranes

and

military

vehicles

Put across the

battery –

typically

lithium-ion

batteries - or

fuel cell

Faster charging stations and regenerative braking, energy harvesting shock absorbers etc

can be used without damaging the battery. Sometimes more of the battery’s energy can be

used ie the battery can be used to a deeper state of discharge, extending the range of the

vehicle. In the case of fuel cells, it compensates for start-up time and provides surges of

power for eg starting off with a vehicle, accelerating or climbing a hill or earthmoving or

heavy lifting. Fuel cells and batteries have poor power density. In a system that eliminates

an internal combustion engine, you get little or no noise, land or air pollution. Military

vehicles have almost no heat or gas signature for missiles to home in on. Below and left:

Mazda pure electric car adds a supercapacitor across the Nippon Chemi-Con battery to

protect it and enhance performance.

Source IDTechEx

Bollore Pininfarina Bluecar below is a pure electric car which has a Batscap

supercapacitor to enhance performance and protect the battery. Bollore has introduced the

Blue Car and it is commercially available for daily rentals. The version currently on the road

does not use ultracapacitors, but is battery only. The next version is intended to use caps as

well as being available for sale to consumers.

Source Bollore

The Kleenspeed KAR pure electric prototype shown below also has a supercapacitor across

the battery.

Lithium-ion

battery

market

reduced in

value

compared

with the

partial

alternative

of over-

sizing the

battery.


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battery or

capacitor

market

Source Kleenspeed

Below: the Riversimple car in the UK replaces the lithium-ion battery across its fuel cell

with a Maxwell Technologies supercapacitor.

Source IDTechEx

Replacing one

of the lead

acid batteries

in a truck for

cold starting

eg -20C to -

40C when the

lead acid

battery can

release no

more than half

its power

Truck almost always starts even in the coldest weather and after the hotel facilities have

been used overnight with the engine off. New regulations often ban engine idling.

Reduces the

lead acid

battery

market


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battery or

capacitor

market

Source IDTechEx

Completely

replacing all

batteries in a

pure electric

vehicle where

frequent

recharging is

practicable to

compensate

for the energy

density being

no better than

that of a lead-

acid battery

today (a

limitation that

will not exist at

some time in

the future)

Longer life and faster charge and discharge at higher up front cost but possibly lower cost-

over-life due to tolerating tougher duty cycle with less maintenance and longer life.

Improved safety and reliability and almost no maintenance. Sinautec bus with

supercapacitors and no battery picking up overhead power at bus stop.

Source Sinautec

Lithium-ion

battery

market is

reduced in

value:

batteries

not needed


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battery or

capacitor

market

Hybrid

electric

vehicles

Replacing the

battery in a

hybrid electric

vehicle like

this one in

Russia using

ELIT shown

right and the

MAN Lion’s

City Hybrid

bus in

Germany that

also uses a

supercapacitor

instead of a

battery shown

below it

Source ELIT

Source MAN presentation at IAA Electric Vehicle Congress Hannover 2012

Reduces the

market for

lithium-ion

batteries


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battery or

capacitor

market

The Toyota hybrid TS030 racing car below was a winner in 2012 with Nisshinbo

supercapacitors replacing the battery

Source Toyota

Light

Train

Uses super

capacitor

energy storage

to operate

without an

external power

supply.

Underfloor

power pick-

ups 30 sec

(2km) charge

the roof-

mounted

super

capacitor unit

from a fixed

supply while

train is

standing at

station. Energy

regenerated

during braking

is recovered

for reuse.

Wireless operation seen as cheaper and less visually-intrusive than conventional

electrification. Demonstrated August 2012. Commercial production by 2014 - viable for use

in more than 100 smaller and medium-sized Chinese cities, as well as export.

Source CSR Zhuzhou Electric Locomotive

Siemens has something similar in Germany with a supercapacitor set across a NiMH

battery in a streetcar that can cover 2.5km untethered. Again regen. braking is made

possible. Power consumption reduced by one third and carbon dioxide sharply down.

Overhead power cables removed from where they are a visual blight and where they are a

problem at intersections.

Genève tram operator TPG is testing a prototype supercapacitor energy storage unit which

allows braking energy to be recovered, and enables a tram to run for short distances

without an external power supply.

The 1 tonne supercapacitor unit has been installed on the roof of one of a batch of 32 Tango

trams being delivered to TPG by Stadler Rail. It can store the equivalent of the entire kinetic

energy of an empty tram moving at 55 km/h, according to Stadler, and is more effective

than batteries at absorbing and releasing the high short-term currents produced during

braking.


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battery or

capacitor

market

Energy regenerated during braking is reused as the vehicle starts to move, when its power

requirement is highest. The stored energy can also power the tram for at least 400 m if the

overhead supply should fail. A distance of 1500 m has been achieved with careful driving

under low-acceleration, low-speed test conditions.

The prototype is undergoing extensive testing by TPG, Stadler and traction equipment

supplier ABB. Its energy consumption is being compared with the rest of the Tango fleet

equipped for conventional regenerative braking which feeds current back into the overhead

supply.

If the tests prove successful, the other 31 Tango vehicles for TPG could be equipped with

supercapacitors 'relatively easily'.

Source of the Geneva story: Railway Gazette

Wind

turbine

Pitch control

when electrics

fail Replacing

previous

emergency

backup such

as a lithium-

ion

rechargeable

battery or a

lithium thionyl

chloride

battery with

conventional

capacitors

Faster more reliable pitch control backup prevents explosive destruction of the turbine in a

high wind if electrics fail.

Reduces the

market for

lithium-ion

or other

back-up

batteries

Metal

forming

Replacing

banks of

electrolytic

capacitors in a

much smaller

space provided

the longer

time constant

is tolerable

Smaller, lighter weight equipment Reduces

capacitor

market

Camera

flash eg

in

mobile

phones

Replacing

electrolytic

capacitor/

halogen bulb

with super

capacitor/ high

power LED

Flash pictures can be taken from farther away because more energy can be discharged

within the severe space constraints

Reduces

electro-

lytic

capacitor

market


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battery or

capacitor

market

Source Murata

Cordless

drill with

except-

ional

fast

charging

Replacing

lithium-ion

battery

Cordless drill for use in space developed by NASA with supercapacitors and no battery.

Commercial versions are now available from such companies as Demain International sold

through Top Link Industrial Co. as are battery free flashlights etc. Benefits include long,

maintenance-free life with lower cost of ownership, faster charging and greener

credentials in some cases.

Source NASA

Replaces

lithium-ion

batteries

Source IDTechEx


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3.2. Ensuring that supercapacitors will

replace more batteries

Both supercapacitors and supercabatteries are being improved to the point where they replace

more and more rechargeable batteries, notably the lithium-ion batteries that currently dominate

the marketplace. We have seen that supercapacitors are being adopted despite their high leakage

current and poor energy density. This is because of their performance and long life in the main,

coupled with grearly superior safety and reliability. Here is an example of the thrust of work to

increase the extent to which supercapacitors and their variants replace batteries.

The United States Army Research Laboratory has joined hands with a Mumbai lab to develop nano-

hybrid supercapacitors. These long-lasting power storage devices would be a cheaper and greener

alternative for use in hybrid vehicles.

The US Army's Research Lab of Aberdeen has tied up with the chemistry department of the

University of Mumbai to develop a hybrid supercapacitor using nanotechnology. The US lab will

spend $34,000 to fund this project in the first year.

"The collaboration was finalised in December 2012 and research work will start next month," says

Prof AK Srivastava, head of the autonomous chemistry department.

He adds, "Unlike batteries, supercapacitors can be charged and discharged in seconds and can

withstand many thousands of such charging cycles."

The joint project will combine the powers of both a battery and supercapacitor to achieve the best

result. Prof Srivastava says, "In the first phase, we will test certain electrochemical reactions in

dipolar aprotic solvents." The nano-supercapacitor could also reduce carbon dioxide emissions by

around 30%, he adds.


61

4. Applications now and in the

future One way of summarising this is given in the excellent Maxwell Technologies “The Ultracapacitor

Product Guide”, part of which states:

Maxwell BOOSTCAP® ultracapacitors products are offered in a full range of sizes. This enables

utilization of ultracapacitors in a variety of industries for many power requirement needs. These

applications span from milliamps current or milliwatt power to several hundred amps current or

several hundred kilowatts power needs. Industries employing ultracapacitors have included:

consumer electronics, traction, automotive, and industrial. Examples within each industry are

numerous.

Automotive – 42 V vehicle supply networks, power steering, electromagnetic valve controls, starter

generators, electrical door opening, regenerative braking, hybrid electric drive, active seat belt

restraints.

Transportation – Diesel engine starting, train tilting, security door opening, tram power supply,

voltage drop compensation, regenerative braking, hybrid electric drive.

Industrial – uninterrupted power supply (UPS), wind turbine pitch systems, power transient

buffering, automated meter reading (AMR), elevator micro-controller power backup, security doors,

forklifts, cranes, and telecommunications.

Consumer – digital cameras, lap top computers, PDAs, GPS, hand held devices, toys, flashlights,

solar accent lighting, and restaurant paging devices.

Consideration for the various industries listed, and for many others, is typically attributed to the

specific needs of the application the ultracapacitor technology can satisfy. Applications ideally

suited for ultracapacitors include pulse power, bridge power, main power and memory backup.


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4.1. Pulse Power

Ultracapacitors are ideally suited for pulse power applications. Due to the fact the energy storage

is not a chemical reaction, the charge/discharge graphene of the capacitors is efficient.

Since ultracapacitors have low internal impedance they are capable of delivering high currents and

are often times placed in parallel with batteries to load level the batteries, extending battery life.–

buffers the battery from seeing the high peak currents experienced in the application. This

methodology is employed for devices such as digital cameras, hybrid drive systems and

regenerative braking (for energy recapture). (IDTechEx notes that this goes beyond vehicles to

include a crane lowering a load or stopping during rotation).

4.2. Bridge Power

Ultracapacitors are utilized as temporary energy sources in many applications where immediate

power availability may be difficult. This includes UPS systems utilizing generators, fuel cells or

flywheels as the main power backup. All of these systems require short start up times enabling

momentary power interruptions. Ultracapacitor systems are sized to provide the appropriate

amount of ride through time until the primary backup power source becomes available.

4.3. Main Power

For applications requiring power for only short periods of time or is acceptable to allow short

charging time before use, ultracapacitors can be used as the primary power source. Examples of

this utilization include toys, emergency flashlights, restaurant paging devices, solar charged accent

lighting, and emergency door power. (IDTechEx adds hand tools to that).

4.4. Memory Backup

When an application has an available power source to keep the ultracapacitors trickle charged they

may be suited for memory backup, system shut down operations, or event notification. The

ultracapacitors can be maintained at its full charged state and act as a power reserve to perform

critical functions in the event of power loss. This may include AMR for reporting power outage,

micro-controllers and board memory.

JM Energy, in promoting its lithium-ion capacitor variant of a supercapacitor sees the following

applications, the attributes being relative to batteries.


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“An electricity storage device with a high energy density and a high power density at the same time,

an ULTIMOTM cell can be charged and discharged at a large current.

In addition, an ULTIMOTM cell is provided with features of exhibiting an excellent repeated charge

and discharge characteristic, less self-discharge, and wider working temperature ranges while

ensuring a high degree of safety. Typical examples of applications making the most of these

features are shown below.”

Fig. 4.1 Examples of applications of the ULTIMO Cell

Source JM Energy


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4.4.1. Evolution of commercially successful functions

The basic functions above can be summarised as reaching market acceptance in the following

sequence, with a few notable exceptions. Most of these functions can be seen commercially now

but we are forecasting when major supercapacitor business will result from them and suppliers

currently obtaining major sales in these.


companies leading the success by sector

Energy

regeneration/

energy harvesting

and surge power,

particularly by

battery

enhancement and

protection in road

vehicles, material

handling.

Backup power,

notably for

emergencies, and

peak assist

Start up and

peak assist

power eg for

fuel cells,

office

machines,

remote

metering

Energy

regeneration/

energy harvesting

and surge power,

by fuel cell

enhancement and

protection

Pulse power for

radar, metal

forming,

camera flash

etc

and high

frequency uses

in electronics

Main traction

power,

particularly

vehicles and

load moving

Maxwell

Technologies

Nippon ChemiCon

Batscap

Maxwell

Technologies

Nesscap

LSMtron

Nesscap

LSMtron

Source IDTechEx

4.4.2. Composite structural and smart skin supercapacitors

for power storage

At Imperial College London, Dr Natasha Shirshova is working on this aspect and IDTechEx expects

commercialisation within five years. The focus of this research is developing a multifunctional

composite material that can simultaneously carry mechanical loads and at the same time storing

(and delivering) electrical energy. This work carried out at Imperial College London holds the key to

devices powered by their own casings. She says,

“Conventional approaches to energy storage include batteries, capacitors and supercapacitors.

Batteries have a high energy density, but low power density, due to high internal resistance at high

discharge rates associated with the kinetics of the redox process; capacitors offer a limited energy

density with a high power density, since the energy is only stored as charge on the electrodes. The

focuses of our research are supercapacitors, which have a higher specific power than most of the

batteries, and specific energy which is significantly higher than conventional capacitor (typical

energy and power densities of 1-10 Wh/kg and 0.2-5 kW/kg respectively). This combination (energy

2013 2018 2023


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and power density) allows supercapacitor to occupy he position between batteries and conventional

capacitors. Moreover, supercapacitors have much longer cycle live compare to batteries. The

electrical performance of supercapacitors makes them desirable as short term storage media and

high power density energy sources in applications in which fast bursts of energy are inherent.

These components are particularly useful for the load-levelling applications; when used in

combination with a battery they provide for peak power demands (for example, during rapid

acceleration of a vehicle) that cannot be supplied efficiently by the battery, giving substantial

improvements in battery life. The most common form of electrochemical double layer

supercapacitor consists of two electrodes, a separator, and an electrolyte. The two electrodes

(made of activated carbon fibre in this project), provide a high surface area, and are separated by a

layer that is ionically-conducting but electrically insulating. The energy is stored in an

electrochemical double layer (Helmholtz Layer) formed at a solid/electrolyte interface. The amount

of stored energy is a function of the available electrode surface, the size of the ions, and the

electrolyte stability (usually about 3V). Our subsequent research is developing a proof-of-concept

multifunctional structural power storage material. We have investigated development of a carbon

fibre reinforced polymer composite which can act as a supercapacitor and show good mechanical

properties (Young’s Modulus, Shear stiffness, compression strength, and peel and shear

toughness). To this end we have investigated multifunctional composites derived from carbon fibres

and their activation as mechanically robust electrode materials, polymer gel electrolytes as the ion

conducting phase, glass fibres as the insulator layers and sol-gel derived porous silica as further

structural reinforcement. We have developed a treatment for structural carbon fibres with an

activated surface, allowing them to act both as a reinforcement and an electrode. 50-fold increase

in surface area with negligible loss in mechanical properties has been achieved. The composite

with the specific capacitance 20 mF/g and specific energy about 0.011Wh/kg has been formed.”

Fig. 4.2 Structural supercapacitor as flexible film.

Source Imperial College London

The so-called 'plastic supercapacitor' is an impressive leap forward in the concept of power

storage, allowing the actual casing of a device to provide the power it requires to run. In the case of


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vehicles, this means non-structural elements such as the bumpers and interior spaces could

provide additional power for increased range; in portable devices, the actual case itself could store

the energy required to make the device work. The technology could be used in portable devices in

two ways: certainly at first it's likely to be as an additional power source, helping to make a more

traditional Lithium-Ion or Lithium-Polymer battery last that little bit longer; once the technology

has been sufficiently improved, however, it's possible that the battery can be dispensed of entirely -

paving the way for thinner, lighter portable devices. Potentially, it is greener: requiring fewer

harmful chemicals during its manufacture, the plastic supercapacitor concept represents much

less of an environmental concern when it comes time to dispose of your device.

Project co-ordinator Dr. Emile Greenhaigh admits that "we’re at the first stage of this project and

there is a long way to go," but envisions a future where "you might have a mobile phone that is as

thin as a credit card because it no longer needs a bulky battery, or a laptop that can draw energy

from its casing so it can run for a longer time without recharging."

4.5. Manufacturer successes and strategies

by application

We have investigated the following manufacturers, putative manufacturers and commercial

companies developing supercapacitors (Symmetric Electrochemical Double Layer Capacitors

EDLC) and their variants, most of which have some battery-type ie electrochemical/ Faradaic

aspect in addition to electrostatic ie capacitor-type storage. For example, supercabatteries

(Asymmetric Electrochemical Double Layer Capacitors AEDLC) may have a lead acid or lithium-ion

electrode or, more rarely nowadays, a nickel battery electrode. The battery- type electrode ie

faradaic not electrostatic is usually an intercalating metal oxide. The capacitor-type electrode is

usually high surface area carbon on a current collector of conductive polymer or metal, notably

aluminium foil. This is true for both asymmetric and symmetric types. When the faradaic and

electrostatic storage is exhibited by one substance it is usually ruthenium oxide and the device is

then called a pseudocapacitor.

In asymmetric arrangement, the battery electrode has a greater capacity than the carbon electrode,

typically resulting in twice the energy storage capability of a comparable symmetric carbon based

supercapacitor. As the voltage swing of the cell during charge/discharge occurs mainly across the

carbon, the battery electrode experiences a relatively low depth of discharge and provides the

conditions required for high cycle life compared to a battery. However, the best symmetric EDLCs

in the laboratory are as good or better than AEDLCs in such parameters as gravimetric energy

density Wh/kg and cycle life. Commercial success of AEDLCs is limited as yet and usually pitched

as “a battery with better properties other than energy density and at a higher price.” They are rarely

pitched as “a capacitor with greater energy density”. They therefore compete with lead-acid

batteries and lithium-ion batteries in the main.


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Under 6% of supercapacitor/ supercabattery manufacturers are in Europe and Maxwell

technologies has seen a collapse in demand for these devices in Europe in the last year.

Nevertheless, there is a huge latent demand for this region as illustrated by a slide we have been

given by Professor Pietro Perlo of IFAVS in Italy that is shown below.

Fig. 4.3 Primary demand for energy storage for battery-like products in Europe in 2020, which will be

satisfied by batteries, supercapacitors, intermediate products and combinations of these

Source IFEVS


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5. Survey of 80 manufacturers The electrolytes used in supercapacitors and supercabatteries are broadly divided into acetonitrile

and other solvents plus the newer option of replacing a solvent with solute with an ionic liquid. The

favourite non-aqueous electrolyte, acetonitrile has recently been found to be more dangerous than

previously estimated in that, in addition to being flammable, sometimes creating toxic (eg HCN)

gases when burning and the liquid is a carcinogen, it is now maintained that the liquid can cause

birth defects and when it burns in a confined space such as a garage it can kill. Maxwell

Technologies gives the implications for the flammability and toxicity on its website. Broadly

speaking, small quantities in supercapacitors are of little concern but the larger devices can

contain quantities of acetonitrile that sometimes encounter restrictions on air transport, disposal

and so on. Because acetonitrile has given the higher cell voltages in the past at up to 2.75 V, this

has led to relatively high energy density and, in particular, acetonitrile has conferred high power

density and competitive costs compared with aqueous alternatives. Low temperature of operation

has also been a benefit sometimes meaning -40C. However, this is changing with improved

alternative electrolytes having good low temperature performance and energy density, most of

which are non-flammable (aqueous) or self-extinguishing (organic) an green from the point of view

of disposal. They are not usually restricted for air travel. Not surprisingly, the trend is for

companies starting to manufacture supercapacitors for the first time to shun acetonitrile and it is

possible that it will be banned at least in large amounts as adequate alternatives become fully

accepted. Some options for alternative organic solvent being as shown below.

Propylene carbonate PC used by several Japanese suppliers

Dimethylsulfoxide

N, N dimethylformamide

Ethylene carbonate

Diethyl carbonate

Sulfolane γ-butyrolactone

The choice between aqueous and organic electrolyte depends on 4 parameters which are

contradictory, the resistance, the capacitance, the manufacturability and the potential window size

in which the system is electrochemically stable. It has been shown that above 25oC the

supercapacitor capacitance is 5 to 10% greater with AN in comparison to that obtained with PC. In

the same temperature conditions the series resistance with PC is 50% bigger. At lower


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temperature the situation is even worse. At -30C for example, the capacitance is 50% bigger with

AN and the series resistance can be five times greater with PC. Nonetheless, developments are

altering all these relationships, electrolytes being an important focus of improved performance,

green credentials and reduced or eliminated flammability.

Supercapacitor manufacturers often have a reluctance to reveal that they are using acetonitrile. On

the other hand, many of the aqueous electrolytes employ sulphuric acid or potassium hydroxide for

example, which, while being much more benign, are scarcely non-poisonous. Gel polymer

electrolytes are also of interest for longer life, any format and less chance of leakage but they tend

not to have the best low temperature performance. The polymer matrix may be based on

poly(propylene), poly(vinylidene difluoride), poly(tetrafluoroethylene), poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO),

polyaniline (PANI) or poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). Covalent supercapacitor electrolyte

technology is based on a family of salts known as hydrophobic Ionic liquids IL. These materials

offer a unique set of physical, chemical and electrochemical properties that strongly favor their use

as electrolytes in supercapacitors. IL technology is based on the judicious pairing of delocalized

heterocyclic organic cations and charge stabilized organic and inorganic anions.

Properties of the ionic liquid are:

ion concentration from 4 M to 6 M

wide working temperature, from -90 oC to 400 oC

non-flammable with low toxicity

non-corrosive to electrode and packing components at elevated temperatures

isothermal stabilities approaching 300 oC with no measurable vapor pressure

The viscosities of IL are minimally two orders of magnitude greater than those of most common

molecular solvents. Thus the typically ionic conductivity is in the range from 4 to 14 mS/cm at 22oC.

This conductivity is insufficient for supercapacitors at room temperature and below, but are

suitable for high temperature applications according to Petr Dvořák as reported in his Doctoral

Degree Program, FEEC BUT .

The electrolytes used by the various manufacturers are as follows but this is subject to change, for

example as an increasing minority of manufacturers adopt several options. In many cases, we are

not clear what electrolyte is currently used as this is often kept secret. Both symmetric and

asymmetric designs can use either organic or inorganic electrolytes and development of both

families continues.


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supercapacitors, supercabatteries and carbon-enhanced lead batteries for commercialisation

with country, website and device technology.

EDLC = Symmetric supercapacitor

LiC = Supercabattery based on lithium

PbC = Supercabattery or carbon-enhanced battery based on lead battery

AEDLCNi = Supercabattery based on nickel battery

PseudoC = Pseudocapacitor RuO2 part electrostatic, part electrochemical

TaHybrid = Tantalum electrolytic/ supercapacitor construction

CNT = carbon nanotube. Gp = Graphene.

Yellow = not yet trading


1. ABSL EnerSys UK http://www.abslspaceproducts.com http://www.enersys.com EDLC carbon

2. Ada

Technologies

USA http://www.adatech.com EDLC carbon

3. Advanced

Capacitor

Technologies

Japan http://www.act.jp/eng/ LiC

4. ApowerCap

Technologies

Ukraine http://www.apowercap.com EDLC carbon

5. Asahi Kasei –

FDK

Japan http://www.fdk.co.jp LiC

6. AVX USA

(Mexico)

http://www.avx.com EDLC carbon

7. Axion Power

International

USA www.axionpower.com PbC

8. Bainacap China www.bainacap.com EDLC carbon

9. Batscap

(Bollore)

France http://www.batscap.com/en EDLC carbon

10. Beijing HCC

Energy Tech

China www.hccenergy.com/en EDLC carbon

11. Cap-XX Australia http://www.cap-xx.com EDLC carbon

12. CDE Cornell

Dubilier

USA www.cde.com LiC

EDLC carbon

13. Cellergy

owned by PCB

technologies,

part of Prior

Tech Group

Israel www.cellergycap.com EDLC carbon

14. Chaoyang

Liyuan New

Energy (Liyuan

Company)

China www.cyliyuan.com EDLC carbon

LiC

15. Cooper

Bussmann

USA www.cooperindustries.com EDLC carbon

16. Daying Juneng

Technology

and

Development

China http://www.alibaba.com/trade/search?fsb=y&IndexArea=product_en&Ca

tId=&SearchText=Daying+Juneng+Technology+and+Development

EDLC carbon

17. Dongguan

Amazing

Electronic

China http://amazing.en.alibaba.com/contactinfo.html

EDLC carbon

18. Dongguan

Fuhui

Electronics

Sales

China http://winwinsupercap.en.alibaba.com/contactinfo.html EDLC carbon

http://www.abslspaceproducts.com/

http://www.adatech.com/

http://www.act.jp/eng/

http://www.apowercap.com/

http://www.fdk.co.jp/

http://www.avx.com/

http://www.axionpower.com/

http://www.bainacap.com/

http://www.batscap.com/en

http://www.hccenergy.com/en

http://www.cap-xx.com/

http://www.cde.com/

http://www.cellergycap.com/

http://www.cyliyuan.com/

http://www.cooperindustries.com/



http://amazing.en.alibaba.com/contactinfo.html

http://winwinsupercap.en.alibaba.com/contactinfo.html


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19. Dongguan

Gonghe

Electronics

China http://worldghc.en.alibaba.com/contactinfo.html

Dongguan City GHC Electronic Co., Ltd (Domestic market)



EDLC carbon

20. Dongguan WIN

WIN Supercap

Electronic

China http://www.diytrade.com/china/manufacturer/1160302/main/Dongguan_

WIN-WIN_Supercap_Electronic_Co_Ltd.html

EDLC carbon

21. East Penn

Manufacturing

Co.

USA www.dekabatteries.com PbC

22. Ecoult (East

Penn)

USA

(Australia)

www.ecoult.com EDLC carbon

23. Elbit Systems Israel www.elbitsystems.com EDLC carbon

PbC

PseudoC

24. ELIT Russia www.elit-cap.com EDLC carbon

25. Elna Japan www.elna.co.jp EDLC carbon

26. Elton Super

Capacitor

(ESMA)

Russia www.elton-cap.com

www.esma.com

EDLC carbon AEDLCNi

27. Evans

Capacitor

Company

USA www.evanscap.com TaHybrid

PseudoC

EDLC

28. Extreme

Capacitors X-

Caps

USA www.extremecapacitor.com EDLC carbon (Gp &

CNT)

29. FastCAP

Systems

USA www.fastcapsystems.com EDLC carbon CNT

30. FDK Japan www.fdk.com LiC

31. Furukawa

Battery Co

Japan www.furukawadenchi.co.jp PbC

32. Graphene

Energy Inc

USA www.grapheneenergy.net EDLC carbon Gp

33. Harbin Jurong

Newpower

China www.jurong-newpower.com.cn


EDLC carbon

34. Heter Battery/

Handong

Heter Battery

China www.heterbattery.com EDLC carbon

35. Honda Japan www.world.honda.com EDLC carbon

36. Hitachi

(Hitachi Maxell

and Hitachi

AIC)

Japan www.hitachi.com LiC

37. Hutchinson

(Total group)

France www.cdt.hutchinson.fr

EDLC carbon

38. Illinois

Capacitor

USA www.illcap.com EDLC carbon

39. Inmatech USA www.inmatech.com LiC based on early

transition metal

carbides and nitrides

40. Ioxus USA www.ioxus.com EDLC carbon

LiC

41. JM Energy

(JSR Micro)

Japan www.jmenergy.co.jp LiC

42. KAM China www.kam.co.uk EDLC carbon

43. Kankyu

Batteries

Japan No website LiC

44. Korchip Korea www.korchip.com EDLC carbon

45. LithChem

Energy

USA www.lithchemenergy.com/ EDLC carbon

46. LSMtron Korea www.ultracapacitor.co.kr

www.lsmtron.com/

EDLC carbon

http://worldghc.en.alibaba.com/contactinfo.html





http://www.dekabatteries.com/

http://www.ecoult.com/

http://www.elbitsystems.com/

http://www.elit-cap.com/

http://www.elna.co.jp/

http://www.elton-cap.com/

http://www.esma.com/

http://www.evanscap.com/

http://www.extremecapacitor.com/

http://www.fastcapsystems.com/

http://www.fdk.com/

http://www.furukawadenchi.co.jp/

http://www.grapheneenergy.net/

http://www.jurong-newpower.com.cn/


http://www.heterbattery.com/

http://www.world.honda.com/

http://www.hitachi.com/

http://www.cdt.hutchinson.fr/

http://www.illcap.com/

http://www.inmatech.com/

http://www.ioxus.com/

http://www.jmenergy.co.jp/

http://www.kam.co.uk/

http://www.korchip.com/

http://www.lithchemenergy.com/

http://www.ultracapacitor.co.kr/

http://www.lsmtron.com/


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47. Maxwell

Technologies

USA www.maxwell.com EDLC carbon

Researching AEDLC

and CNT

48. MegaJoule

Storage

USA www.megajouleinc.com

PbC AEDLC

49. Meidensha/

Sumitomo

Electric

industries use

JM Energy LiC

Japan www.meidensha.co.jp EDLC carbon

LiC

50. Murata Japan www.murata.com EDLC carbon

51. Nanotune

Technologies

USA www.nanotune.com EDLC carbon Gp

52. NEC Tokin Japan www.nec-tokin.com EDLC carbon

LiC

53. Nesscap

Energy Inc

Canada

(Korea)

www.nesscap.com EDLC carbon

54. Nichicon Japan www.nichicon.co.jp EDLC carbon

55. Nippon

Chemi-con/

United

ChemiCon

Japan www.chemi-con.co.jp

www.chemi-con.com

EDLC carbon

56. Nisshinbo Japan www.nisshinbo.co.jp EDLCCarbon

57. Optixtal USA www.optixtal.com EDLC carbon

58. Panasonic Japan www.panasonic.net EDLC carbon

59. Paper Battery

Company

USA www.paperbatteryco.com EDLC carbon

60. PowerSystem

Co

Japan www.powersystems.co.jp EDLC carbon

61. Quantum

Wired

USA www.quantumwired.com EDLC carbon

62. Ryan

Technology

Taiwan www.ryan-technology.com EDLC carbon

63. SAFT France www.saftbatteries.com EDLC carbon

AEDLCNi

PseudoC

64. SAHZ Holdings

Sdn. Bhd

Malaysia www.nottingham.edu.my

EDLC

AEDLC

65. Shandong

Heter

Lampson

Electronic

China www.htlampson.com EDLC carbon

66. Shanghai

Aowei

Technology

Development

China www.aowei.com EDLC carbon

67. Shanghai

Green Tech

China www.greentechee.com EDLC carbon

68. Shanghai

Power Oriental

International

Trade

China www.poweroriental.cn EDLC carbon

69. Shenzhen

Forecon Super

Capacitor

Technology

China www.forecon.hk EDLC carbon

70. Sino Power

Star

China http://www.spscap.com EDLC carbon

71. Skeleton

Technologies

Estonia www.skeletontech.com EDLC carbon

72. SPL USA www.splusa.net EDLC carbon

73. Taiyo Yuden Japan www.t-yuden.com LiC

74. Tavrima Canada www.tavrima.com

EDLC carbon

http://www.maxwell.com/

http://www.megajouleinc.com/

http://www.meidensha.co.jp/

http://www.murata.com/

http://www.nanotune.com/

http://www.nec-tokin.com/


http://www.nichicon.co.jp/

http://www.chemi-con.co.jp/

http://www.chemi-con.com/

http://www.nisshinbo.co.jp/

http://www.optixtal.com/

http://www.panasonic.net/

http://www.paperbatteryco.com/

http://www.powersystems.co.jp/

http://www.quantumwired.com/

http://www.ryan-technology.com/

http://www.saftbatteries.com/

http://www.nottingham.edu.my/

http://www.htlampson.com/

http://www.aowei.com/

http://www.greentechee.com/

http://www.poweroriental.cn/

http://www.forecon.hk/

http://www.spscap.com/

http://www.skeletontech.com/

http://www.splusa.net/

http://www.t-yuden.com/

http://www.tavrima.com/


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75. TDK inc

EPCOS

Japan www.tdk.com EDLC carbon

76. Tecate Group USA www.tecategroup.com EDLC carbon

Makes PowerburstTM

But also resells

Maxwell and Cap-XX

versions

77. Vina

Technology Co

Korea www.vina-technology-co-ltd.imexbb.com EDLC carbon

78. WIMA

Spezialvertrieb

Elektronischer

Bauelemente

Germany www.wima.com EDLC carbon

79. Yo-

Engineering

Russia www.yo-auto.ru EDLC carbon

80. Yunasko UK

(Ukraine)

www.yunasko.com EDLC carbon

LiC

Source IDTechEx

The geographical distribution of manufacturers of supercapacitors and their variants

The incidence of the different technologies is shown below.

Fig. 5.1 Incidence of the different technologies

USA 22 29%

Japan 21 27%

China 17 22%

Russia 3 4%

Korea 3 4%

UK 2 3%

Canada 2 3%

Israel 2 3%

Australia 1 1%Estonia 1 1%

Germany 1 1%

Malaysia 1 1%

Ukraine 1 1%

Source IDTechEx

http://www.tdk.com/

http://www.tecategroup.com/

http://www.vina-technology-co-ltd.imexbb.com/

http://www.wima.com/

http://www.yo-auto.ru/

http://www.yunasko.com/


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The numbers of manufacturers offering the various supercapacitor technologies including

derivatives, some companies having several options are shown below.

Fig. 5.2 Number of manufacturers offering the various supercapacitor technologies including derivatives,

some companies having several options

Symmetric supercapacitor EDLC

6574%

Supercabattery based on lithium LiC

1416%

Ionicliquid

6%

Supercabattery based on nickel battery

AEDLCNi 2

2%

Pseudocapacitor RuO2 part electrostatic, part

electrochemical2

2%

Tantalum electrolytic/ supercapacitor

TaHybrid 1

1%

Source IDTechEx





Trend in number of manufacturers






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Fig. 5.3 Estimate of the number of trading manufacturers of supercapacitors and supercabatteries globally

1993-2025 including timing of industry shakeout.

200 200 Industry shakeout – failures

and mergers

130

80

50

30 20

10 1993 1998 2003 2008 2013 2018 2023 2025

Source IDTechEx

Manufacturer successes and strategies by application are given in the following tables which are

based on our interviews and study of their patents, conference presentations, literature and press

comment. Inevitably it is subjective and subject to frequent changes but some general trends are

revealed.

Firstly, in summary of the later detailed figures, the main achievements and objectives with

supercapacitors by number of manufacturers seem to be as follows. This illustrates a move from

electronic and electric engineering applications in the past to almost entirely electrical engineering

priorities for the future.


77

6. Achievements and

objectives by manufacturer Below we show our detailed analysis of the achievements and intention of the 78 manufacturers

and putative manufacturers of supercapacitors and their variants. Such information is, of course,

subjective and suspect in its detail because false claims occur and intentions and achievements

constantly change. However, we have covered such a large field that we consider the overall results

to be meaningful.


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Table 6.1 By application, for Automotive, Aerospace, Military and Oil & Gas, the successes by 78

supercapacitor/supercabattery manufacturers in grey green and their targets for extra

applications in the near term in yellow. Six sub categories are analysed

Automotive Aerospace Military

Company Conventional

on-road

vehicle

Hybrid and

pure EV on-

road

Hybrid and

pure EV off-

road

Train, trolleybus

and tram

Stop-start,

bus door

open,

boardnet

stabilisation,

heavy diesel

engine

starting,

power

steering,

Regen. brake.

Fast charge/

Discharge

(battery

protection and

enhancement).

Fuel cell

power

management

Includes

Material

Handling.

Regen. brake.

Fast charge/

discharge

(battery

protection

and

enhancement)

Capturing braking

energy trackside or

on vehicle, train

tilting, security door

opening, electro

magnetic valve

controls, hybrid

electric drive,

emergency power,

bridging power

between catenaries.

Trackside

harvesting and rail

system standby/

backup

Emergency door,

emergency slides,radar

etc

Door opening in

emergency, radar. Fast

charge/discharge(battery

protection and

enhancement and use

alone for traction)

ABSL EnerSys Satellites Vehicles

Ada

Technologies –

commercial

developer

Vehicles

Advanced

Capacitor

Technologies

APowerCap

Technologies

Asahi Kasei –

FDK

AVX

Axion Power

International

Bainacap–

Liaoning Baina

Electric Co has

Maxwell

Technologies

license

Batscap

(Bollore)

Cars/buses


79

© ID

Te

ch

Ex L

td



on-road

vehicle

Hybrid and

pure EV on-

road

Hybrid and

pure EV off-

road

Train, trolleybus

and tram

Stop-start,

bus door

open,

boardnet

stabilisation,

heavy diesel

engine

starting,

power

steering,

Regen. brake.

Fast charge/

Discharge

(battery

protection and

enhancement).

Fuel cell

power

management

Includes

Material

Handling.

Regen. brake.

Fast charge/

discharge

(battery

protection

and

enhancement)

Capturing braking

energy trackside or

on vehicle, train


opening, electro

magnetic valve

controls, hybrid

electric drive,

emergency power,

bridging power

between catenaries.

Trackside

harvesting and rail

system standby/

backup

Emergency door,


etc

Door opening in



protection and

enhancement and use

alone for traction)

Beijing HCC

Energy Tech

Cars,

e-bicycles

Cap-XX Stop start

CDE Cornell

Dubilier

Cellergy

Chaoyang

Liyuan New

Energy

Buses/

vehicles

Cooper

Bussmann

Daying Juneng

Technology

and

Development

Dongguan

Amazing

Electronic

Mechanical

equipment

Electric

vehicle

controller

Aviation, spacecraft

Dongguan

Fuhui

Electronics

Sales

E- bikes,

hybrid cars

Military equipment

Dongguan

Gonghe

Electronics


80

© ID

Te

ch

Ex L

td



on-road

vehicle

Hybrid and

pure EV on-

road

Hybrid and

pure EV off-

road

Train, trolleybus

and tram

Stop-start,

bus door

open,

boardnet

stabilisation,

heavy diesel

engine

starting,

power

steering,

Regen. brake.

Fast charge/

Discharge

(battery

protection and

enhancement).

Fuel cell

power

management

Includes

Material

Handling.

Regen. brake.

Fast charge/

discharge

(battery

protection

and

enhancement)

Capturing braking

energy trackside or

on vehicle, train


opening, electro

magnetic valve

controls, hybrid

electric drive,

emergency power,

bridging power

between catenaries.

Trackside

harvesting and rail

system standby/

backup

Emergency door,


etc

Door opening in



protection and

enhancement and use

alone for traction)

Dongguan WIN

WIN Supercap

Electronic

East Penn

Manufacturing

Co.

Ecoult

Elbit Systems Car, bus etc

ELIT Combustion

engines

Elna

Elton Super

Capacitor

(ESMA)

Large variety

of heavy

vehicles

Diesel starting

Evans

Capacitor

Company

Door, radar Missile fusing,

penetrating weapon apps

Extreme

Capacitors X-

Caps

Vehicle

traction and

charging

station power

balancing

Traction power

FastCAP

Systems


81

© ID

Te

ch

Ex L

td



on-road

vehicle

Hybrid and

pure EV on-

road

Hybrid and

pure EV off-

road

Train, trolleybus

and tram

Stop-start,

bus door

open,

boardnet

stabilisation,

heavy diesel

engine

starting,

power

steering,

Regen. brake.

Fast charge/

Discharge

(battery

protection and

enhancement).

Fuel cell

power

management

Includes

Material

Handling.

Regen. brake.

Fast charge/

discharge

(battery

protection

and

enhancement)

Capturing braking

energy trackside or

on vehicle, train


opening, electro

magnetic valve

controls, hybrid

electric drive,

emergency power,

bridging power

between catenaries.

Trackside

harvesting and rail

system standby/

backup

Emergency door,


etc

Door opening in



protection and

enhancement and use

alone for traction)

FDK

Furukawa

Battery Co

Graphene

Energy Inc

Hydraulic

and actuator

systems

Re-generative

braking

Harbin Jurong

Newpower

Electric buses

Heter Battery/

Handong

Heter Battery

Honda

Hitachi

(Hitachi Maxell

and Hitachi

AIC)

Illinois

Capacitor

Inmatech

Ioxus Buses,trucks,

cars stop

/start

Stop/start


82

© ID

Te

ch

Ex L

td



on-road

vehicle

Hybrid and

pure EV on-

road

Hybrid and

pure EV off-

road

Train, trolleybus

and tram

Stop-start,

bus door

open,

boardnet

stabilisation,

heavy diesel

engine

starting,

power

steering,

Regen. brake.

Fast charge/

Discharge

(battery

protection and

enhancement).

Fuel cell

power

management

Includes

Material

Handling.

Regen. brake.

Fast charge/

discharge

(battery

protection

and

enhancement)

Capturing braking

energy trackside or

on vehicle, train


opening, electro

magnetic valve

controls, hybrid

electric drive,

emergency power,

bridging power

between catenaries.

Trackside

harvesting and rail

system standby/

backup

Emergency door,


etc

Door opening in



protection and

enhancement and use

alone for traction)

JM Energy Construction

machinery

KAM

Kankyu

Battery

Korchip Heavy

engineering

LithChem

Energy

Cars

LSMtron

Maxwell

Technologies

In

Continental

stop start

system

installed in

PSA Peugeot

Citroen cars

Cars Forklifts and

cranes.

Bombardier

capturing

braking

energy in

trains and

trams.

Riversimple

car fuel cell

(battery

replacement)

Capturing braking

energy trackside or

on vehicle, train


opening, electro

magnetic valve

controls, hybrid

electric drive

Buses, trains, trams

rail system standby/

backup Zhengzhou

Tutong Bus Co.

Door, radar Hybrid diesel electric

transport trucks (peak-

power assist and reliable

cold cranking to increase fuel efficiency and

decrease maintenance).

Door opening in


charge/discharge

(battery protection and

enhancement and use

alone for traction) Door

opening in emergency,

radar. Fast


protection and

enhancement and use

alone for traction)


83

© ID

Te

ch

Ex L

td



on-road

vehicle

Hybrid and

pure EV on-

road

Hybrid and

pure EV off-

road

Train, trolleybus

and tram

Stop-start,

bus door

open,

boardnet

stabilisation,

heavy diesel

engine

starting,

power

steering,

Regen. brake.

Fast charge/

Discharge

(battery

protection and

enhancement).

Fuel cell

power

management

Includes

Material

Handling.

Regen. brake.

Fast charge/

discharge

(battery

protection

and

enhancement)

Capturing braking

energy trackside or

on vehicle, train


opening, electro

magnetic valve

controls, hybrid

electric drive,

emergency power,

bridging power

between catenaries.

Trackside

harvesting and rail

system standby/

backup

Emergency door,


etc

Door opening in



protection and

enhancement and use

alone for traction)

Meidensha

Murata

Nanotune

Technologies

NEC Tokin

Nesscap

Energy Inc

Engine start

e.g. truck,

fuel cell

vehicles by

wire

Micro mild and

full hybrid,

heavy duty and

transit

buses,trams,

trains

Heavy duty

vehicles

Hybrid

forklifts,

crane, hybrid

excavator

Military

Nichicon

Nippon

Chemi-Con/

United Chemi-

Con

Nisshinbo

Optixtal

Panasonic


84

© ID

Te

ch

Ex L

td



on-road

vehicle

Hybrid and

pure EV on-

road

Hybrid and

pure EV off-

road

Train, trolleybus

and tram

Stop-start,

bus door

open,

boardnet

stabilisation,

heavy diesel

engine

starting,

power

steering,

Regen. brake.

Fast charge/

Discharge

(battery

protection and

enhancement).

Fuel cell

power

management

Includes

Material

Handling.

Regen. brake.

Fast charge/

discharge

(battery

protection

and

enhancement)

Capturing braking

energy trackside or

on vehicle, train


opening, electro

magnetic valve

controls, hybrid

electric drive,

emergency power,

bridging power

between catenaries.

Trackside

harvesting and rail

system standby/

backup

Emergency door,


etc

Door opening in



protection and

enhancement and use

alone for traction)

Paper Battery

Company

PowerSystem

Co

Quantum

Wired

Ryan

Technology

Hybrid cars

SAFT Aircraft

SAHZ Holdings

Sdn. Bhd

Shandong

Heter

Lampson

Electronic

Diesel

locomotive

start up

systems,

automobile

low

temperature

start up

systems,

automobile

emergency

start up

systems

Energy

systems for

pure and

hybrid vehicles

Military

maintenance free power

systems, high power

pulse systems, ultra-

low start up power

systems

Shanghai

Aowei

Technology

Development

Electric buses


85

© ID

Te

ch

Ex L

td



on-road

vehicle

Hybrid and

pure EV on-

road

Hybrid and

pure EV off-

road

Train, trolleybus

and tram

Stop-start,

bus door

open,

boardnet

stabilisation,

heavy diesel

engine

starting,

power

steering,

Regen. brake.

Fast charge/

Discharge

(battery

protection and

enhancement).

Fuel cell

power

management

Includes

Material

Handling.

Regen. brake.

Fast charge/

discharge

(battery

protection

and

enhancement)

Capturing braking

energy trackside or

on vehicle, train


opening, electro

magnetic valve

controls, hybrid

electric drive,

emergency power,

bridging power

between catenaries.

Trackside

harvesting and rail

system standby/

backup

Emergency door,


etc

Door opening in



protection and

enhancement and use

alone for traction)

Shanghai

Green Tech

Shanghai

Power Oriental

International

Trade

Automotive

electronics

Cars

Shenzhen

Forecon Super

Capacitor

Technology

Sino Power

Star

Electric and

hybrid vehicles

Skeleton

Technologies

SPL

Taiyo Yuden

Tavrima Hybrid

vehicles

TDK

Tecate Group Aerospace industry Vehicles,

communication, radar


86

© ID

Te

ch

Ex L

td



on-road

vehicle

Hybrid and

pure EV on-

road

Hybrid and

pure EV off-

road

Train, trolleybus

and tram

Stop-start,

bus door

open,

boardnet

stabilisation,

heavy diesel

engine

starting,

power

steering,

Regen. brake.

Fast charge/

Discharge

(battery

protection and

enhancement).

Fuel cell

power

management

Includes

Material

Handling.

Regen. brake.

Fast charge/

discharge

(battery

protection

and

enhancement)

Capturing braking

energy trackside or

on vehicle, train


opening, electro

magnetic valve

controls, hybrid

electric drive,

emergency power,

bridging power

between catenaries.

Trackside

harvesting and rail

system standby/

backup

Emergency door,


etc

Door opening in



protection and

enhancement and use

alone for traction)

Vina

Technology Co

Hybrid

vehicles, low

current long

term backup

WIMA

Spezialvertrieb

Elektronischer

Bauelemente

Yo-

Engineering

Hybrid car

Yunasko KERS Hybrid

vehicles

TOTAL

ACHIEVEMENT 20 25 9 11 8 12

TOTAL

INTENTIONS 11 17 17 9 3 9

Source IDTechEx


87

© ID

Te

ch

Ex L

td

Table 6.2 The successes in six categories in the Utility sector by 78 supercapacitor/supercabattery

manufacturers in grey green and their targets for extra applications in the near term in yellow

Utilities

Renewable Energy Other

Company Wind turbines:

blade pitch

control or main

power

buffering

Photovoltaic PV Grid storage Remote control

utility meters

Power factor

correction/

frequency

control

Oil & Gas eg

drilling

ABSL EnerSys

Ada

Technologies

Advanced

Capacitor

Technologies

APowercap

Technologies

Asahi Kasei –

FDK

AVX

Axion Power

International

Bainacap –

Liaoning Baina

Electric Co has

Maxwell

Technologies

license

.

Batscap

(Bollore)

Beijing HCC

Energy Tech

Storage buffer

systems

Cap-XX


88

© ID

Te

ch

Ex L

td

Utilities



blade pitch

control or main

power

buffering


utility meters

Power factor

correction/

frequency

control

Oil & Gas eg

drilling

CDE Cornell

Dubilier

Cellergy

Chaoyang

Liyuan New

Energy

Cooper

Bussmann

Wind turbines

Daying Juneng

Technology and

Development

Dongguan

Amazing

Electronic

Smart power

grid,STB

Dongguan

Fuhui

Electronics

Sales

Dongguan

Gonghe

Electronics

Dongguan WIN

WIN Supercap

Electronic

East Penn

Manufacturing

Co.

US DoE smart-

grid storage

demonstration

program

Ecoult

Elbit Systems

ELIT


89

© ID

Te

ch

Ex L

td

Utilities



blade pitch

control or main

power

buffering


utility meters

Power factor

correction/

frequency

control

Oil & Gas eg

drilling

Elna

Elton Super

Capacitor

(ESMA)

Evans

Capacitor

Company

Extreme

Capacitors X-

Caps

FastCAP

Systems

FDK

Furukawa

Battery Co

Power

management

Graphene

Energy Inc

Harbin Jurong

Newpower

Heter Battery/

Handong Heter

Battery

Honda

Hitachi (Hitachi

Maxell and

Hitachi AIC)

Illinois

Capacitor


90

© ID

Te

ch

Ex L

td

Utilities



blade pitch

control or main

power

buffering


utility meters

Power factor

correction/

frequency

control

Oil & Gas eg

drilling

Inmatech

Ioxus Large power

and offshore

wind turbines

JM Energy Power

management

KAM

Kankyu Battery

Korchip

LithChem

Energy

LSMtron

Maxwell

Technologies

Meidensha

Murata

Nanotune

Technologies

NEC Tokin


91

© ID

Te

ch

Ex L

td

Utilities



blade pitch

control or main

power

buffering


utility meters

Power factor

correction/

frequency

control

Oil & Gas eg

drilling

Nesscap

Energy Inc

Pitch control

system

Nichicon

Nippon Chemi-

con

Nisshinbo

Optixtal

Panasonic

Paper Battery

Company

PowerSystem

Co

Quantum Wired Power

management

Ryan

Technology

Wind velocity

pitch control

SAFT

SAHZ Holdings

Sdn. Bhd

Shandong

Heter Lampson

Electronic


92

© ID

Te

ch

Ex L

td

Utilities



blade pitch

control or main

power

buffering


utility meters

Power factor

correction/

frequency

control

Oil & Gas eg

drilling

Shanghai

Aowei

Technology

Development

Shanghai

Green Tech

Shanghai

Power Oriental

International

Trade

Power

management

Shenzhen

Forecon Super

Capacitor

Technology

Sino Power

Star

Skeleton

Technologies

SPL

Taiyo Yuden

Tavrima

TDK

Tecate Group

Vina

Technology Co

Pitch control

WIMA

Spezialvertrieb

Elektronischer

Bauelemente


93

© ID

Te

ch

Ex L

td

Utilities



blade pitch

control or main

power

buffering


utility meters

Power factor

correction/

frequency

control

Oil & Gas eg

drilling

Yo-Engineering

Yunasko

TOTAL

ACHIEVEMENT 17 9 4 6 19 5 4

TOTAL

INTENTIONS 12 15 1 9 2 10 1

Source IDTechEx


94

© ID

Te

ch

Ex L

td

Table 6.3 The successes by 78 supercapacitor/supercabattery manufacturers in the Consumer and

Industrial & Commercial sectors in grey green and their targets for extra applications in the near

term in yellow. Eight sub-categories are analysed.

Consumer Industrial & Commercial

Company Mobile phones

and cameras

Audio Toys and

other

Standby

power/UPS

not on a grid

scale

Office

machines,

medical and

small devices

not in other

categories

eg copiers. AMR, DVR, real

time clock

battery, USB

powered

devices, energy

harvesting for

wireless sensor

networks, LED

battery -

operated active

RFID tags,

solenoid

products

Telecoms.

GSM/GPRS PC

cards

Gaming

machines

Heavy

pulse

power:

welding

machine,

robotic

systems,

metal

forming

ABSL EnerSys

Ada

Technologies

Advanced

Capacitor

Technologies

APowerCap

Technologies

Asahi Kasei –

FDK

AVX

Axion Power

International

Bainacap –

Liaoning Baina

Electric Co. has Maxwell

Technologies

license


95

© ID

Te

ch

Ex L

td



and cameras

Audio Toys and

other

Standby

power/UPS

not on a grid

scale

Office

machines,

medical and

small devices

not in other

categories


time clock

battery, USB

powered

devices, energy

harvesting for

wireless sensor

networks, LED

battery -

operated active

RFID tags,

solenoid

products

Telecoms.

GSM/GPRS PC

cards

Gaming

machines

Heavy

pulse

power:

welding

machine,

robotic

systems,

metal

forming

Batscap

(Bollore)

Beijing HCC

Energy Tech

Cap-XX Camera/phone

CDE Cornell

Dubilier

Cellergy

Chaoyang

Liyuan New

Energy

Cooper

Bussmann

Daying Juneng

Technology

and

Development

Dongguan

Amazing

Electronic

Mobile phone

charger

Medical

equipment,

security

detective

equipment Instrument and

meters


96

© ID

Te

ch

Ex L

td



and cameras

Audio Toys and

other

Standby

power/UPS

not on a grid

scale

Office

machines,

medical and

small devices

not in other

categories


time clock

battery, USB

powered

devices, energy

harvesting for

wireless sensor

networks, LED

battery -

operated active

RFID tags,

solenoid

products

Telecoms.

GSM/GPRS PC

cards

Gaming

machines

Heavy

pulse

power:

welding

machine,

robotic

systems,

metal

forming

Dongguan

Fuhui

Electronics

Sales

Intelligent

instruments,

car audio

systems

Alarms

,security

devices FOICs,

cash registers,

duplicators

rapid heating

Dongguan

Gonghe

Electronics

Dongguan WIN

WIN Supercap

Electronic

East Penn

Manufacturing

Co.

Ecoult

Elbit Systems

ELIT Car audio

systems

Elna

Elton Super

Capacitor

(ESMA)


97

© ID

Te

ch

Ex L

td



and cameras

Audio Toys and

other

Standby

power/UPS

not on a grid

scale

Office

machines,

medical and

small devices

not in other

categories


time clock

battery, USB

powered

devices, energy

harvesting for

wireless sensor

networks, LED

battery -

operated active

RFID tags,

solenoid

products

Telecoms.

GSM/GPRS PC

cards

Gaming

machines

Heavy

pulse

power:

welding

machine,

robotic

systems,

metal

forming

Evans

Capacitor

Company

Extreme

Capacitors X-

Caps

FastCAP

Systems

Portable

storage

FDK

Furukawa

Battery Co

Graphene

Energy Inc

Harbin Jurong

Newpower

Heter Battery/

Handong

Heter Battery

Honda

Hitachi

(Hitachi Maxell

and Hitachi

AIC)


98

© ID

Te

ch

Ex L

td



and cameras

Audio Toys and

other

Standby

power/UPS

not on a grid

scale

Office

machines,

medical and

small devices

not in other

categories


time clock

battery, USB

powered

devices, energy

harvesting for

wireless sensor

networks, LED

battery -

operated active

RFID tags,

solenoid

products

Telecoms.

GSM/GPRS PC

cards

Gaming

machines

Heavy

pulse

power:

welding

machine,

robotic

systems,

metal

forming

Illinois

Capacitor

Broad range of

electronic

devices and

power tools

Inmatech

Ioxus Power tools,

motor start,

actuation

systems and

medical led

apps

JM Energy Voltage sag

compensator,

emergency

shut off valve,

large

manufacture

equipment

AVG, LED

lighting and

medical

appliances

KAM

Kankyu

Battery

Korchip

LithChem

Energy

LSMtron


99

© ID

Te

ch

Ex L

td



and cameras

Audio Toys and

other

Standby

power/UPS

not on a grid

scale

Office

machines,

medical and

small devices

not in other

categories


time clock

battery, USB

powered

devices, energy

harvesting for

wireless sensor

networks, LED

battery -

operated active

RFID tags,

solenoid

products

Telecoms.

GSM/GPRS PC

cards

Gaming

machines

Heavy

pulse

power:

welding

machine,

robotic

systems,

metal

forming

Maxwell

Technologies

Cord

less tools,

emergency kits,

toys, computers

etc

Meidensha

Murata Power

amp,audio

circuits

LED flash

Nanotune

Technologies

NEC Tokin

Nesscap

Energy Inc

Wireless

audio, car

audio;SSD

Nichicon

Nippon

Chemi-con

Nisshinbo

Optixtal


100

© ID

Te

ch

Ex L

td



and cameras

Audio Toys and

other

Standby

power/UPS

not on a grid

scale

Office

machines,

medical and

small devices

not in other

categories


time clock

battery, USB

powered

devices, energy

harvesting for

wireless sensor

networks, LED

battery -

operated active

RFID tags,

solenoid

products

Telecoms.

GSM/GPRS PC

cards

Gaming

machines

Heavy

pulse

power:

welding

machine,

robotic

systems,

metal

forming

Panasonic

Paper Battery

Company

PowerSystem

Co

Quantum

Wired

Ryan

Technology

Car audio Motor drivers,

automatic

meter reading ,

Remote

controllers

duplicators, self

–electric

charging,

electric valves

SAFT

SAHZ Holdings

Sdn. Bhd

Shandong

Heter

Lampson

Electronic

Power supply

for smart

ammeters,

water and ,

backup power

for clock chip,

short time high

power, high

power energy-


101

© ID

Te

ch

Ex L

td



and cameras

Audio Toys and

other

Standby

power/UPS

not on a grid

scale

Office

machines,

medical and

small devices

not in other

categories


time clock

battery, USB

powered

devices, energy

harvesting for

wireless sensor

networks, LED

battery -

operated active

RFID tags,

solenoid

products

Telecoms.

GSM/GPRS PC

cards

Gaming

machines

Heavy

pulse

power:

welding

machine,

robotic

systems,

metal

forming

storing systems

, backup power

for storage,

power –off

protection

power supply

for printers and

power off

protection

power supply

for tax control

machines,

Electric tools

LED lighting

and

identification

power for PV

systems

Shanghai

Aowei

Technology

Development

Shanghai

Green Tech

Shanghai

Power Oriental

International

Trade

Computers,

monitors,

digital cameras

, toys, energy

saving LED

lamps, DVD MP3,

Instrumentation

Telecommunication

equipment

telephones, radars,


102

© ID

Te

ch

Ex L

td



and cameras

Audio Toys and

other

Standby

power/UPS

not on a grid

scale

Office

machines,

medical and

small devices

not in other

categories


time clock

battery, USB

powered

devices, energy

harvesting for

wireless sensor

networks, LED

battery -

operated active

RFID tags,

solenoid

products

Telecoms.

GSM/GPRS PC

cards

Gaming

machines

Heavy

pulse

power:

welding

machine,

robotic

systems,

metal

forming

Shenzhen

Forecon Super

Capacitor

Technology

Cell phone Audio

equipment

Intelligent

electrical

appliance,

electric cooker,

electric water

heater, DVD

Cordless

phone, digital

camera, super

flashlight,

printer,

intelligent door

lock, MP3,VTR,

PDA, GPS and

PLC

Sino Power

Star

Skeleton

Technologies/

Tartu

Technologies

SPL

Taiyo Yuden

Tavrima

TDK


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and cameras

Audio Toys and

other

Standby

power/UPS

not on a grid

scale

Office

machines,

medical and

small devices

not in other

categories


time clock

battery, USB

powered

devices, energy

harvesting for

wireless sensor

networks, LED

battery -

operated active

RFID tags,

solenoid

products

Telecoms.

GSM/GPRS PC

cards

Gaming

machines

Heavy

pulse

power:

welding

machine,

robotic

systems,

metal

forming

Tecate Group

Vina

Technology Co

Car audio LED lighting

(solar road

stud, solar LED

brick

WIMA

Spezialvertrieb

Elektronischer

Bauelemente

Yo-

Engineering

Yunasko Welding

device

TOTAL

ACHIEVEMENT 6 13 18 7 21 6 3 2

TOTAL

INTENTION 4 2 1 7 5 0 0 1

Source IDTechEx


105

7. Examples of non-

commercial development

programs Non-commercial supercapacitor developers with their country, website, industrial partner,

applications targeted are exemplified below showing a bias towards applications in vehicles.

Table 7.1 Non-commercial supercapacitor developers with their country, website, industrial partner,

applications targeted

Researcher Country Industrial and

academic

partners

Applications targetted

Bayerisches Zentrum fur

Angewandte

Energieforschung EV

Germany

Center for Solar Energy

and Hydrogen Research,

Baden Wurtetemburg

ZSW

Germany Photovoltaics power management

Fraunhofer-Institut für

Arbeitswirtschaft und

Organisation IAO,

Stuttgart working with

Institut für

Arbeitswissenschaft und

Technologiemanagement

IAT,

Universität Stuttgart

Germany Vehicles

Fraunhofer Institute for

ceramic technologies

and Systems IKTS

Germany

Fraunhofer Institutes Germany Inmatech,

University of

Michigan,

ALTe

Powertrain

Technologies

Automotive & Military


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academic

partners


Harbin Institute of

Technology

China Bainacap –

Liaoning

Baina Electric

Co Ltd

Electric vehicles, voltage balancing, charge-discharge control, intelligent

management, solar photovoltaic, wind turbine pitch control, low

temperature vehicle start, military, automotive

ILHYPOS European

Commission

project in

2012

Ionic liquid based hybrid power capacitors - transportation

Imperial College London UK As smart skin on vehicles

Liaoning University China Bainacap –

Liaoning

Baina Electric

Co Ltd




Manchester University UK For energy management in future aircraft systems

Nottingham University UK SAHZ

Holdings

Malaysia

SEMYUNG

Ever Energy

Co. Ltd. of

South Korea

and 2M

Engineering

Ltd. of the

Netherlands.

The Sahz-Nottingham NANO Super-capacitor Pilot Plant was established

in 2007, with RM6.5 million Technofund grant by the Ministry of Science,

Technology & Innovation (MOSTI) to SAHZ Holdings Sdn. Bhd. To enable

Sahz to produce “home grown” super-capacitors for solar energy storage,

mobile and electric vehicle applications and to commercialise them under

the ENERSTORA brand name. The University of Nottingham Malaysia

Campus established the pilot plant and produces the super-capacitors for

the project needs.

Shanghai Jiaotong

University

China Bainacap –

Liaoning

Baina Electric

Co Ltd




Shanghai Tongji

University

China Bainacap –

Liaoning

Baina Electric

Co Ltd




Tsinghua University China Bainacap –

Liaoning

Baina Electric

Co Ltd




United States Council for

Automotive Research

USCAR

USA Versions for hybrid vehicle power trains

University of Michigan USA Inmatech,

University of

Michigan,

ALTe

Powertrain

Technologies

Automotive & Military

University of Stuttgart

Institut für

Arbeitswissenschaft und

Technologiemanagement

IAT, Universität Stuttgart

working with Fraunhofer-Institut für

Arbeitswirtschaft und

Organisation IAO,

Stuttgart

Germany Vehicles


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academic

partners


University of West

Florida

USA Ultracapacitor that maintains a near steady voltage. The novel constant-

voltage design, which may one day help ultracapacitors find new uses in

low-voltage electric vehicle circuits and handheld electronics, is

described in the American Institute of Physics' Journal of Renewable and

Sustainable Energy.In both standard capacitors and ultracapacitors, the

voltage drops as the stored charge is released. Most electronic devices,

however, require constant voltage to operate. An electronic circuit called

a DC-DC converter can change the dropping voltage of the capacitor into

a constant voltage output, but the converters experience problems below

one volt."A significant portion of the energy of the ultracapacitor is held

below one volt," notes Ezzat Bakhoum, a professor of electrical

engineering at the University of West Florida."Operation in that region is

very difficult because the DC-DC converter cannot function at such low

voltage. Applications where the use of an ultracapacitor is precluded

because of this problem include low-voltage systems in electric vehicles,

hand-held power tools, toys, and cameras, just to name a few."

So Bakhoum has designed an ultracapacitor that maintains a near-

constant voltage without a DC-DC converter. The ultracapacitor is fitted

with an electromechanical system that can slowly lift the core of the

device out of the electrolyte solution as the stored charged is released.

As the electrolyte drains away, the device can hold less charge, thus

lowering, its capacitance. Since the voltage of the capacitor is related to

the ratio of the stored charge to the capacitance, the system maintains a

steady voltage as charge is siphoned off.Bakhoum built and tested a

prototype of the new ultracapacitor. After attaching a 35-watt load to the

device, he found he could successfully program the voltage to stay within

a 4.9 to 4.6 volt range. Testing also showed that the constant-voltage

mechanism operates with a 99 percent efficiency or higher. The lifetime of

the electromechanical motor is expected to be about the same as the

lifetime of the ultracapacitor's core, Bakhoum writes."The ultracapacitor

is a wonderful new energy storage device that has many advantages by

comparison with batteries," says Bakhoum. In addition to their near

limitless ability to be recharged, ultracapacitors can release a jolt of

energy much more quickly than batteries.One current disadvantage of

commercially available ultracapacitors, that they store only a fraction of

the energy per unit mass that batteries store, is a challenge that is still

being researched. Some groups have experimented, for example, with

changing the structure of the electrode to increase surface area, and thus

the amount of charge that can be stored.For Bakhoum, future research

steps include modifying the design of the constant-voltage ultracapacitor

system so that it can be installed at any angle. He may also explore

whether the same type of constant-voltage approach is suitable for new,

high-energy-density ultracapacitors.

Wright State University USA For voltage regulation in aircraft distributed power systems

Xi’an Jiaotong University China Bainacap –

Liaoning

Baina Electric

Co Ltd




Source IDTechEx


109

8. Electrolytes by

manufacturer The electrolytes used in supercapacitors and supercabatteries are broadly divided into aqueous

and non- aqueous. The favourite non-aqueous electrolyte, acetonitrile has recently been found to

be more dangerous than previously estimated in that, in addition to being flammable, sometimes

creating toxic gases when burning and the liquid is a carcinogen, it is now maintained that the

liquid can cause birth defects. Maxwell Technologies gives the implications for this on its website.

Broadly speaking, small quantities in supercapacitors are of little concern but the larger devices

can contain quantities of acetonitrile that sometimes encounter restrictions on air transport,

disposal and so on. Because acetonitrile has given the higher cell voltages in the past at up to 2.75

V, this has led to relatively high energy density and, in particular, acetonitrile has conferred high

power density and competitive costs compared with aqueous alternatives. Low temperature of

operation has also been a benefit sometimes meaning -40C. However, this is changing with

improved aqueous electrolytes and here is a search for alternative organic electrolytes to

acetonitrile AN, some options for the non-aqueous solvent being as shown below.

Propylene carbonate PC

Dimethylsulfoxide

N, N dimethylformamide

Ethylene carbonate

Diethyl carbonate

Sulfolane γ-butyrolactone

The choice between aqueous and organic electrolyte depends on 4 parameters which are

contradictory, the resistance, the capacitance, the manufacturability and the potential window size

in which the system is electrochemically stable. It has been shown that above 25oC the

supercapacitor capacitance is 5 to 10% greater with AN in comparison to that obtained with PC. In

the same temperature conditions the series resistance with PC is 50% bigger. At lower

temperature the situation is even worse. At -30C for example, the capacitance is 50% bigger with

AN and the series resistance can be five times greater with PC. Nonetheless, developments are


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altering all these relationships, electrolytes being an important focus of improved performance,

green credentials and reduced or eliminated flammability.

Supercapacitor manufacturers often have a reluctance to reveal that they are using acetonitrile. On

the other hand, many of the aqueous electrolytes employ sulphuric acid or potassium hydroxide for

example, which, while being much more benign, are scarcely non-poisonous. Gel polymer

electrolytes are also of interest for longer life, any format and less chance of leakage but they tend

not to have the best low temperature performance. The polymer matrix may be based on

poly(propylene), poly(vinylidene difluoride), poly(tetrafluoroethylene), poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO),

polyaniline (PANI) or poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). Covalent supercapacitor electrolyte

technology is based on a family of salts known as hydrophobic Ionic liquids IL. These materials

offer a unique set of physical, chemical and electrochemical properties that strongly favor their use

as electrolytes in supercapacitors. IL technology is based on the judicious pairing of delocalized

heterocyclic organic cations and charge stabilized organic and inorganic anions.

Properties of the ionic liquid are:

ion concentration from 4 M to 6 M

wide working temperature, from -90 oC to 400 oC

non-flammable with low toxicity

non-corrosive to electrode and packing components at elevated temperatures

isothermal stabilities approaching 300 oC with no measurable vapor pressure

The viscosities of IL are minimally two orders of magnitude greater than those of most common

molecular solvents. Thus the typically ionic conductivity is in the range from 4 to 14 mS/cm at 22oC.

This conductivity is insufficient for supercapacitors at room temperature and below, but are

suitable for high temperature applications according to Petr Dvořák as reported in his Doctoral

Degree Program, FEEC BUT .

The electrolytes used by the various manufacturers are as follows but this is subject to change, for

example as an increasing minority of manufacturers adopt several options. In many cases, we are

not clear what electrolyte is currently used as this is often kept secret. Both symmetric and

asymmetric designs can use either organic or inorganic electrolytes and development of both

families continues.


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Table 8.1 Electrolytes used – acetonitrile solvent, other solvent or ionic liquid - by supercapacitor and

lithium supercabattery manufacturers and putative manufacturers.

Company Acetonitrile Other solvent Ionic liquid

ABSL EnerSys

Ada Technologies

Advanced Capacitor

Technologies

APowerCap Technologies

Asahi Kasei – FDK

AVX Sulfuric acid

Axion Power International

Bainacap – Liaoning Baina

Electric Co has Maxwell

Technologies license

Batscap (Bollore) Solid polymer electrolyte

Beijing HCC Energy Tech

Cap-XX USA Patent, US 7,341,514

B2. 208-01-01.

CDE Cornell Dubilier

Cellergy Sulfuric acid

Chaoyang Liyuan New Energy


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Cooper Bussmann

Daying Juneng Technology and

Development

Dongguan Amazing Electronic

Dongguan Fuhui Electronics

Sales

Dongguan Gonghe

GHCElectronics

Dongguan WIN WIN Supercap

Electronic

East Penn Manufacturing Co. Sulfuric acid

Ecoult (East Penn)

Elbit Systems

ELIT

Elna “Organic”

Elton Super Capacitor (ESMA)

Evans Capacitor Company

FDK

Graphene Energy Inc


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Harbin Jurong Newpower

Heter Battery/ Handong Heter

Battery

Honda

Hitachi (Hitachi Maxell and

Hitachi AIC)

Hutchinson (Total Group) Sulfuric acid

Illinois Capacitor

Inmatech

Ioxus Aqueous

JM Energy “A Li-ion battery electrolyte”

Kankyu Battery

Korchip

LithChem Energy Organic electrolyte that is self-

extinguishing and not

acetonitrile based

LSMtron


Meidensha


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Murata

Nanotune Technologies

NEC Tokin

Nesscap Energy Inc

Nichicon Proponyl carbonate

Nippon Chemi-con Proponyl carbonate

Nisshinbo

Optixtal

Panasonic

Paper Battery Company

PowerSystem Co

Ryan Technology

SAFT

Shandong

Heter Lampson Electronic

Shanghai Aowei Technology

Development


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Shanghai Green Tech

Shanghai Power Oriental

International Trade

Shenzhen Forecon Super

Capacitor Technology

Sino Power Star

Skeleton Technologies

Taiyo Yuden

Tavrima

TDK

Tecate Group

Vina Technology Co

WIMA Spezialvertrieb

Elektronischer Bauelemente

Yo-Engineering

Yunasko

TOTAL 39 (51%) 33 (43%) 5 (6%)

Source IDTechEx


117

9. Interviews and

commentary on company

strategy for

supercapacitors

9.1. Interviews with suppliers

9.1.1. Cap-XX Australia

We were told in two interviews that flash in mobile phones and vehicle stop-start are among the top

priorities for this company. They use an organic electrolyte but would not identify it and they have

licensed their process to Murata.

Electronic Design also spoke to Cap-XX and learnt: “Supercapacitors are already replacing

batteries, such as in small-scale energy-harvesting applications, consumer, and

commercial/industrial devices, as well as large-scale installations like wind turbines,” says Peter

Buckle, vice president of sales and marketing at CAP-XX Limited.

“As environmental concerns increase, supercapacitors will continue to replace batteries.

Supercapacitors allow designers to reduce the size and number of batteries required to power an

application by handling the high-charge/discharge events in automotive apps and peak load

leveling in portable electronics. The supercapacitor handles high power, allowing greater battery

design and selection flexibility,” Buckle explains.

“The two major supercapacitor chemistries today use aqueous and organic electrolytes. Organic

electrolyte systems have the advantage in terms of power because of their higher cell voltage, up to


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2.75 V, and dominate the large-cell market due to their high power and high energy when used in

series configuration,” says Buckle.

“Aqueous, water-based systems have cheaper raw materials and often higher energy, but lower

power. Ionic liquids, which do not use any solvents, offer possibilities in supercapacitor chemistry,

but have yet to deliver in the mass market. And hybrid chemistries can be either water or organic,”

Buckle says.

“Both organic and water-based systems based on metal oxides offer great promise, with aqueous

lead-acid and nickel-hydroxide and organic lithium-ion systems being successfully

commercialized,” he says.

9.1.2. Cellergy Israel

Cellergy told us, in late 2012, that their electrolyte is aqueous sulfuric acid and the current

collector 3D conductive plastic because aluminium foil could not withstand the sulfuric acid. They

use advanced screen printing unlike the others who almost all use slot coating with a scraper.

9.1.3. East Penn Manufacturing USA

At the AABC event in Florida in 2012, Scott McCuskey of East Penn Manufacturing explained their

minority view that their lead-based AEDLCs should be used in hybrid electric vehicles to replace

NiMH batteries.

Fig. 9.1 UltrabatteryTM for medium hybrid vehicles

Source IDTechEx


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9.1.4. Elton Super Capacitor Russian Federation

Buses

In 2012, ESMA, later renamed Elton Super Capacitor, did the following as reported in EV World.

Referring to cold weather, the reporter wrote, “So when ESMA and its partners approached

Moscow City Government with a proposal to develop an electric shuttle bus for use in the city's

many parks, they had no intention of operating it using conventional electrochemical secondary

batteries. Instead, their bus would be powered solely by 950 kg (2,094 lbs.) of energy stored in

8.6kW of super or ultracapacitors, possibly the first application ever of capacitors to power a

vehicle this size.

The bus was developed by jointly by ESMA, a Moscow-based super capacitor manufacturer, and

several other Russian companies, weighs 9,500 kg (20,994 lbs.) and has a top speed of 20km/hr, not

overly fast, but quite suitable for use in its public park environment.

Not only are supercapacitors less subject to the detrimental effect of extreme cold weather than

conventional storage batteries, but they offer very fast recharge times and significantly longer cycle

lives. The 300 supercapacitors, grouped in modules of 25 each, can be recharged in a mere 12-15

minutes provided an estimated cycle life of more than 10,000 cycles or the equivalent of some

100,000 kilometers. ESMA states that its supercapacitors can operate from ¬-50 to +50 degrees

centigrade, clearly superior to just about any battery in existence other than "heat" batteries like

the ZEBRA battery from Switzerland.

The supercapacitor power bank is used to power both the DC motor and a DC-to-DC converter for

running the buses low voltage equipment at 24-volts. A pulse current controller regulates the

amount of energy used by the 40kW (maximum power) direct current engine (DCE). Nominal power

output is 20kW at 2700 rpm.

During preliminary tests in one of Moscow's city parks, the bus traveled 9.5 km before being

recharged. While this is substantially less than what a comparable bank of lead-acid batteries

might provide, bus developers found it an acceptable compromise since the bus makes frequent

stops and can be quickly recharged. Where a comparable lead-acid bus might travel 30 miles

before needing a recharge, it could take 4-6 hours to recharge. By comparison, a supercapacitor

bus could travel the same 30 miles with just 30 minutes of recharge time, effectively offering 4 to 6

times the range of the lead-acid powered bus. Recharge is accomplished at 220-volts at 360 A. “

As the authors of the article put it, "It should be noted beforehand, that [from] the authors'

standpoint, these capacitors with energy density delivered of 8-10 Wh/kg and charge time of 12-15

minutes, provides [an] acceptable compromise solution for certain specific applications."

Since the bus was designed to operate on a course that was 6.5 km in length, supercapacitors

proved the ideal solution for this application. The bus can be recharged while it is loading people.

The developers also built a city delivery van based on a GAZ-33021 ("Gazel") chassis with a max


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gross weight of 4,000 kg (8,818 lbs.) and a cargo capacity of 1,000 kg (2,204 lbs.). This vehicle, also

supercapacitor-powered has a top speed of 70 km/hr and an average range of 33km at 30-35km/hr

before needing to be recharged. Again recharge is a relatively rapid 1-2-15 minutes. The truck uses

regenerative braking to help recharge the supercapacitor bank. During tests it recaptured as much

as 40% of the energy expended.”

Sinautec had similar buses in the USA and China and in China other firms are involved in this

concept. In late 2012, we asked Mikhail Rodkyonov of ELTON what is the situation today and he was

not aware of purely supercapacitor buses in operation but drew our attention to the Elton

supercapacitor hybrid bus that is used commercially today. Marchmont Innovation News reported

that,

“Moscow regional company Elton is developing new asymmetrical energy-storage supercapacitor

technology that the firm says will triple service life to an estimated 15 years. Elton says its product

will endure more than a million discharge-recharge cycles, and changing it will take less than a

minute. The amounts of energy the new capacitor stores purportedly surpass those of conventional

components “by a factor of ten.”

The benchmark used to determine a capacitor price is $5/kJ. Elton is said to be shooting for a

maximum of just over $4. The supercapacitor’s immediate use is in engine starter systems—

especially for new hybrid vehicles. Another key market is the energy sector, including renewable

energy, which Elton says will benefit through its next gen buffer power storage.

Set up in 1993-1995 in the Moscow region’s town of Troitsk, Elton rapidly expanded from R&D and

small run production, selling capacitors domestically, to becoming an international player. In North

America, its products are marketed under the KAPower brand. It took Elton another nine years to

establish itself as a major producer of electrochemical capacitors in Russia. In November 2010 the

company joined the Skolkovo national innovation program outside Moscow and earlier this year

received an $8.7m grant from the Skolkovo Foundation to further develop its current asymmetrical

supercapacitor project.

Its new supercapacitor is an acid-free ‘clean tech’ product that is based on aqueous electrolytes.

This technology not only makes it environmentally safe but also minimizes the hazard of explosion,

a recurrent problem with today’s commonly used acid cells. Unlike conventional capacitors that

are hermetically sealed and therefore not designed to bleed off internal gases, Elton says its

development has a special valve that eliminates gas build-up, but prevents discharge of any

harmful substance. This and other features, the company says, allow the new supercapacitor to

operate at “extreme” temperatures and “without maintenance.”

According to Elton, next gen capacitors are particularly well-suited for start-stop systems in urban

transport. Buses, vans and other vehicles that spend a lot of time waiting at traffic lights or in

traffic jams waste fuel and are heavy polluters. By decreasing idle engine speed, Elton’s new

capacitors will save fuel and reduce harmful emissions. The company is already working with the


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new Yo-mobile and this past summer, completed a series of tests on Russia’s innovative hybrid bus,

‘Ecobus’—a vehicle that uses methane to power its electric motor and charge an energy-storage

system. According to Elton, using supercapacitors on the Ecobus resulted in a 40% drop in fuel

consumption compared to a conventional gas-driven bus. The tests also validated near-zero

greenhouse gas emissions—a result that surpasses the Euro-6 eco-standard—as well as improved

consumer characteristics like low noise and vibration. The capacitor company wants to go beyond

buses and is reportedly eyeing manufacturers of subway cars, trams, trolleybuses and even diesel

locomotives.

Another potential market for the new supercapacitors is the energy sector. Elton has plans to build

industrial-sized supercapacitors for buffer power storage at all stages of electricity production

from generation to transmission. It believes its new devices will be able to vary consumption at will

and cut losses to a minimum. The Troitsk firm might even develop an energy cost-saving solution

for millions of households by allowing people to use its capacitors to take advantage of differing

electrical rates. When rates drop at night and on weekends, consumers can store this cheaper

energy and then use it during the day when rates are more expensive.

Marchmont noted that the global market for supercapacitors is still small, just $500m. “But fueled

by a sharp rise in hybrid car design and development, experts forecast growth rates to jump by at

least 30% a year. Elton is one of Russia’s five firms developing supercapacitors; the others are

reported to be primarily export-focused, leaving the tiny $50m national market largely unexplored.

Analyzing prospects for tapping Russia’s automotive and energy sectors, experts are divided in

their assessment of Elton. The former, by far the faster-growing of the two, is Elton’s best bet. The

sector is once again profitable and sales will be immediate; but competing with international

majors like the U.S.’ Maxwell, Japan’s Panasonic, S. Korea’s Nesscap or France’s Batscap

presents a serious challenge, especially after the RF joins the WTO this coming December with a

pledge to lower barriers for overseas companies.”

Diesel engine starting

Most recently, ELTON has had success with diesel engine starting, reporting as follows: The annual

saving of 420 million Rubles – that was a conclusion made by the experts who saw the results of

the testing of the railroad locomotive’s diesel engine starting capacitor system. For five months at

the Insk station (Novosibirsk) of the West Siberian Railway, three diesel locomotives equipped with

a diesel engine capacitor starting system were in operation in the mode typical for the depot. Over

that period of time the designers – experts of JSC ELTON were taking into account the observations

made by the depot’s operative personnel, repair and service technicians and made improvements

in the system. In the engine driver’s cab a control console was set up to monitor the voltage of the

standard battery and capacitor modules. The console showed the voltage before the diesel engine’s

starting. The design of the commutation unit matching the operation of the storage battery and the

electrochemical capacitor was improved.

The results of the experiments were obtained in May 2011 and here is the summary. Stable and

steady starting of the diesel engine was validated. The events of starting at first try were recorded


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when the battery was heavily discharged and when it was incapable of providing for the needed

voltage. Just these facts only excited great interest of the railwaymen to the product developed by

JSC ELTON.

The electrochemical capacitors on which the locomotive engine’s starting capacitor system is

based are commonly tagged supercapacitors. The supercapacitors have high stored energy, they

operate in a wide range of temperatures – from minus 50 to +70C°, their cycle life amounts to 1

million charge-discharge cycles (which has been recurrently confirmed by testing). Here are some

comments of the experts of the Insk station’s depot on the operation of the supercapacitors:

“The testing of the capacitor starting systems based on the capacitor modules manufactured by

JSC ELTON and installed in TEM18DM diesel locomotives has produced positive results – during

the operation in the winter time there was not even a single failure of the starting of the diesel

locomotive’s engines, due to the fact that the starting system is incapable of ensuring the needed

parameters. In particular, it should be noted that in the test starting system the required starting

currents of the starter are provided by the capacitor modules only”.

“A steadier starting has been noted (cranking of the diesel engine with higher rotations). A two-fold

reduction of the starting current drawn from the battery shall have a positive effect on the battery’s

cycle life – its approximately two-fold growth may be expected. The employed modules based on

capacitors of EC402 series allowing for a short-time discharge of the capacitor assembly to 15 -20

V shall protect the system from its failure during accidental discharges which are lower than the

rated level”.

When the results of the conducted experiment were obtained, the experts of the operation and

maintenance services of the depot came to quite interesting conclusions. The tested starting

capacitor system makes it possible to turn off the diesel engine during idling in warmer seasons of

the year when there is no need in the engine’s warming-up. According to some preliminary

estimates, over the period of 140 days of operation at the air temperature above +10C°, the saving

of the fuel due to the diesel engine’s cut-off during process down-time shall be 3.5 t and higher.

Furthermore, the engine oil’s consumption is reduced, service life of the diesel engine is increased,

and the regular battery’s maintenance costs are cut while the battery’s service life grows twice as

much.

The introduction of the capacitor starting system as a standard packaging in the electric power

supply in the diesel locomotive shall require some additional investments. At the same time, such

move shall be considered as a real action to enhance energy efficiency and shall help achieve the

objectives set forth in the Federal Law of November 23rd, 2009 # 261-FL “On energy saving and on

increasing energy efficiency and on introducing amendments in certain legal acts of the Russian

Federation”. The similar objectives are set forth in the Government Program of the Russian

Federation “Energy saving and increasing energy efficiency in the period up to 2020”, approved by

the Directive of the Government of the Russian Federation of December 27th , 2010 #2446-r.


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The experts have made the following calculations: annual economic effect from the use of the

starting capacitor system in one shunting locomotive shall produce a tangible result. The payback

period of the capacitor starting system (CSS) for the serial manufacture shall be a bit more than

two years. And the economic effect from the introduction of each starting capacitor system for the

entire service life of the diesel locomotive shall be over 1.7 million Rubles. Taking into account the

fact that OAO Russian Railways has a fleet of about 6000 shunting diesel locomotives, the annual

economic effect only for the railwaymen may amount to over 420 million Rubles due to the mass

introduction of CSS. The environmental aspects have not been disregarded either. The starting

capacitor system shall provide for a significant reduction of greenhouse gases’ emissions.

9.1.5. Inmatech USA

Inmatech was established by Fraunhofer and the University of Michigan to commercialize next

generation suspercapacitors and systems based on nanostructured materials developed and

patented by the University of Michigan. Dr. Stefan Heinemann, Chief Executive Officer and Co-

Founder says,

“Our supercapacitors based on early transition metal carbides and nitrides are technologically

superior, highly cost competitive and safe (non-flammable). Our power and energy management

solutions will enable the transition from our current hydrocarbon economy to the imminent

hydrogen/electron economy. Our goal is to become the leading provider of power and energy

management solutions with next generation supercapacitors with 15Wh/kg at 0.1 cent per Farad.”

In 2010 it was reported that: “Inmatech is three years old, but the Plymouth-based start-up really

got going when it reorganized about six months ago. That move allowed the four-person firm to

focus its business plan and goals.

"We're getting a lot of good feedback, especially over the last few weeks," says Stefan Heinemann,

CEO of Inmatech. "We're in the middle of fundraising and it's going well."


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Fig. 9.2 Inmatech Innovations

Source Inmatech

Fig. 9.3 Supercapacitor market and Inmatech

Source Inmatech


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Inmatech makes advanced, customized supercapacitors for the automotive and defense markets.

These supercapacitors allow for longer operational time of mobile electronics, improved power

delivery and many thousands of load cycles. These lead to significantly lower cost and three times

higher energy density than state-of-the-art devices at uncompromised power capabilities.Inmatech

plans to finish developing this product in 2014. At that time, it expects to employ about 20 people

and become profitable.”

The following press release was issued in 2011:

Auburn Hills, MI – April 21, 2011 – ALTe Powertrain Technologies, the Michigan developer of a

range extended electric powertrain, has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) to form a joint venture with

Inmatech, Inc., a leading developer of advanced supercapacitors, to produce and sell hybrid electric

storage (HES) devices composed of batteries, supercapacitors and control electronics. The blend of

supercapacitors with lithium ion battery cells will enable longer life for the battery cells while

reducing cost by as much as 40% for an equivalent size battery composed exclusively of lithium ion

cells. The applications will range from automotive batteries to stationary grid power leveling

devices.

By combining key competencies of both companies, the joint venture will enable quick market

penetration with a leading performance product at significantly reduced cost, providing robust

technology in ALTe’s plug-in hybrid electric powertrain kits while allowing the joint venture to

provide HES devices to the automotive and grid infrastructure markets.

To assist in bringing the HEV devices to market, ALTe and Inmatech have submitted grant

applications through various federal funding agencies including the Department of Energy. Initial

feedback has been very positive and the projects are now being evaluated by government technical

specialist teams. Should the grants receive final approval, the JV will be able to accelerate product

development and production operations to facilitate sales in early 2014.

“We are very pleased to be entering into a relationship with Inmatech, as we will be able to provide

the best battery solution for our customers while opening new opportunities to expand our

business to further supply the automotive industry’s growing need for advanced electric powertrain

equipment,” said ALTe Founder, Chairman and CEO, John D. Thomas. “We view this initial

response from the Department of Energy as an important testament to the potential of this

relationship and the value of the technology we are developing,” he said.

Stefan Heinemann, President & CEO of Inmatech, declared “ I am thrilled to launch into the JV with

ALTe as it will accelerate our plans to bring this novel material based supercapacitor to market,

offering dramatic cost savings to the industry with very high energy density.”

ALTe’s Range Extended Electric Powertrain will replace standard V-8 engines, retrofitting into

existing fleet vehicles as well as in “glider” applications of new vehicles to increase their fuel

economy by up to 200% and lower emissions. Most recently, ALTe announced a partnership with


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Manheim, the world’s leading automotive reselling service, to create installation centers for fleet

conversions across the country.

The company will be announcing its first fleet customers in the coming months, and ALTe’s electric

powertrain system will be installed in commercial and government fleets beginning next year.

About ALTe:

ALTe is the developer of a Range Extended Electric Powertrain used to repower light commercial

vehicles up to 26,000 GVW. The system will retrofit into existing fleet vehicles as well as in “glider”

applications of new vehicles to dramatically increase their fuel economy and lower emissions.

Designed to replace a base V-8 internal combustion engine powertrain, the system’s patented

technology improves fuel economy from 80% to 200%. Based in Auburn Hills, Michigan, the

company is headquartered in an 185,000 square foot facility where it will assemble its powertrain

kit that will be shipped to installation locations across North America. To learn more, visit the ALTe

website at www.altellc.com

ALTe Powertrain Technologies Signs Joint Venture Agreement in China

Company to open four factories in China while receiving a $70 million USD engineering services

contract

ALTe Powertrain Technologies Pledges Clinton Global Initiative

CHICAGO, IL, – June 7, 2012 – ALTe Powertrain Technologies, developer of the first range-extended

plug-in electric hybrid powertrain for light commercial fleet vehicle applications, today announced

that it has created a Commitment to Action as part of the Clinton Global Initiative America (CGI

America) meeting. ALTe has committed to spur adoption of hybrid electric technology in the

worldwide fleet industry and bolster clean technology jobs in America.

Translogic examines the power of plug-in hybrids for commercial fleets

May 16, 2012 – The crew at Translogic took the time to stop by and see the the team at ALTe

Powertrain Technologies. Founded by a group of former Tesla Motors executives, the company

focuses on building plug-in hybrid conversions for fleet vehicles.

ALTe Powertrain Technologies and Club Assist Announce Development Project on Plug-In

Electric Hybrid Powertrain for Fleets

AUBURN HILLS, Mich., – April 16, 2012 – ALTe Powertrain Technologies and Club Assist today

announced a joint development project to study ALTe’s powertrain technology in Club Assist’s fleet.

Project will be a first for Club Assist, a company committed to electrification of fleets.

ALTe Powertrain Technologies Launches Second Vehicle Line for Plug-in Electric Hybrid

Powertrain Systems

ALTe more than doubles miles per gallon for the popular E350 full-size fleet van.


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Update on ALTe; EREV powertrain company tracking for production-caliber units by December,

production ramp in 1Q 2013

February 29, 2012 – Extended range electric vehicle powertrain company ALTe (earlier post) is

tracking to produce a limited number of production-caliber vehicle powertrains by December, and

plans to ramp up production in the first quarter of 2013.

January 11, 2012 – Alternative-fuel and fuel-efficient vehicles are increasingly becoming fleet

mainstays — electric vehicles and hybrids are a common sight in a growing number of fleets

Forbes lists two EV firms among America’s Most Promising Companies

December 3, 2011 – ALTe Powertrain Technologies and Coda Automotive are two of America’s Most

Promising Companies, according to Forbes. The conservative business mag’s annual list spotlights

100 privately-held companies with compelling business models, strong management teams, plenty

of capital, and notable customers and strategic partners.

AUBURN HILLS, Mich., – December 1, 2011 – Forbes Magazine has named ALTe Powertrain

Technologies (ALTe), developer of the first range-extended plug-in hybrid electric vehicle

powertrain for light commercial fleet vehicle applications, as one of America’s Most Promising

Companies.

9.1.6. Ioxus USA

As reported in the press: “In most instances, ultracapacitors are not inherently designed to replace

batteries because they have lower energy densities than batteries. However, there are applications

where a fast recharge and a higher current demand require an ultracapacitor over a battery,” says

Chad Hall, vice president of sales and cofounder at Ioxus.

“Rather than replace batteries, designers are opting to pair them with an ultracapacitor for fast

charges in higher numbers, which allows users to recharge quickly. Due to the high cycle life of an

ultracap, users don’t need to replace the energy storage source for the life of the product. LED

lights are a good representation of this,” Hall says.

9.1.7. JR Micro Japan

Geoff Myron told us, in late 2012, that they choose to compete with symmetrical EDLCs. He

maintained that their technology does not have the disadvantages of batteries although it is a

supercabattery – a lithium-ion capacitor. He claimed that its action is entirely electrostatic. He said

this is because the anode not the cathode is battery-like. It results in self leakage that is two to

three times less than EDLC and 12 Wh/kg which he sees as more than double that for a typical

EDLC. The applications currently addressed are UPS and voltage sag compensation through sale

via Meidensha in Japan.


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9.1.8. Maxwell Technologies USA

We look particularly closely into Maxwell Technologies, where we have conducted many interviews,

because it is currently the largest supercapacitor manufacturer. Their Simona Vrabiescu and

various sales staff at their exhibition stands have confirmed this to us, in one example citing

Nesscap and LSMtron as second and third in the world, respectively. We agree with David

Schramm CEO that Maxwell Technologies has done almost all the innovation in the industry

concerned with identifying and opening up new applications with dedicated products though it is

Batscap, Kleenspeed and Nippon Chemi-Con that have opened up sales of relatively large

supercapacitors for fast charge / discharge across pure electric car batteries in 2012. Nonetheless,

we agree with David Schramm’s expressed opinion to us that, for the foreseeable future, pure

electric cars are not the major opportunity, their sales being hugely exceeded by sales of hybrid

electric vehicles (at least a factor of four) that already fit Maxwell Technologies supercapacitors for

such things as regen. and braking back-up.

In our interviews, it was clear that Maxwell Technologies is sticking with acetonitrile electrolyte and

opening up a new unique of sharply reducing production cost. Its market approach is to remain

exceptionally broad. For example, it competes with Cap-XX and Murata into the opportunity to

extend the range of mobile phone camera flash by using a flat, postage stamp-sized supercap with

an LED instead of the electrolytic capacitor with halogen bulb.

Fig. 9.4 Maxwell Technologies flat supercapacitor for mobile phones etc. exhibited at EVS26 Los Angeles

Source IDTechEx


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We interviewed Michael Sund who noted that their Business Model clearly is to grow the ultracap

business. The key to that has been cost reduction and educate users. “They used to be exotic

products. Today in universities books you see reference to capacitors of fractions of 1 Farad,

Maxwell has achieved manufacturing 3000 Farads supercapacitors, and this is still being digested

by the design community.”

At the same time, they “pursued a tremendous cost out effort”. In 1999 their 2500 Farad

ultracapacitor cell price was $400 and they were losing money at that price while they were trying

to see some markets clearly. Now the same product in volume sells under $40.The solvent free

process has been a key element to achieve this cost reduction and performance improvement. They

see this achievement a key part in their process of becoming and industry leader. In 2011

supercapacitors segment was 97 million revenue of a total of 157 million. Number one revenue

driver is hybrid transit buses, the majority of those are today being sold in China, where

hybridization of urban transit buses has been subsidized by the Chinesse government to improve

air quality which is a real problem in cities. The Chinese government subsidizes hybrid transit bus

vs diesel transit buses.

They estimate that by the end of this year they will have more than 7000 transit buses on the road

with hybrid drive systems using ultracap for energy storage, they call torque assist for electrical

acceleration using stored electrical energy. This is the biggest driver today. Last year was the

number one revenue producing vertical for Maxwell. Majority of purchases came from China.

Europe number two market for hybrid buses – driven by the Euro 6 regulation for reducing CO2

emissions (http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/environment/air_pollution/l28186_en.htm).

However with the economic situation, particularly in southern Europe, they have seen some funding

withdrawn for some of those procurements. This has been one reason of slow down.

He noticed that in a previous report there is a description about how hybrid drive systems work,

there was apparently the notion that supercapacitors are used in conjunction with lithium ion

batteries in these hybrid drive systems, that is not the case… perhaps in a tiny fraction in these

hybrid transit buses . The predominant configuration is the standard lead acid starting battery and

a very large bank of ultracapacitors providing typically 750 volts of electrical energy in 300

ultracapacitor cells. In China, they are integrated in multicell modules and each bus will carry 16

ultracapacitor modules of 48 volts each (each module having 18 ultracapacitors). Those banks are

responsible of recovering braking energy storing and making it available to electric motors for all

electric take off. Operators of these buses say that being able to take of all electric without any

diesel at all, helps them to reduce particulate emissions by 90%. Improving air quality is the

objective number one of the Chinese subsidies. In addition this represents improvements in fuel

economy of around 25-30%, since the diesel propulsion is activated only when the bus reaches a

speed of around 10 miles per hour.

Chinese government subsidies for carbon reduction emissions, the main driver of growth in hybrid

buses (and hence Maxwell’s sales growth)

http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/environment/air_pollution/l28186_en.htm


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The largest bus producer in the world, the Chinese company Yutong, is using this technology, and

they are Maxwell largest customer today. Another client is the company Golden Dragon , also a

major producer of hybrid transit buses. In addition to this they have other clients using this

technology, but they have not been identified publicly.

In Europe they work mainly with hybrid drive system integrators like Vossloh Kappe a prominent

drive system integrator. Systems integrators as Vossloh Kappe develop the drive system that a bus

manufacturer will integrate in the hybrid bus. Another drive system integrator that they work with

is Voith Turbo.

Last year perhaps two, they talked about a relationship with Flextronics automotive, a tier 1 auto

part supplier, they have introduced a supercapacitor base system for buses in Europe.

It is relevant to mention that 25 Cities in China where part of the subsidy program, based on the

success of this program the government revealed in the last couple of months this will be available

to more cities across the country. There is a regime change in China, so there is a wait and a see in

relation of how policies will evolve. There is some discussion that the subsidy could be lower but

available to more cities.

In the transport sector what percentage do you think that is focused on torque augmentation and

brake energy recovery?

In 2011 of the 97 million in sales, 37 million was for hybrid transit buses and 14 million stop-start

idle elimination systems in automobiles in Europe, more than half of the total supercapacitor sales

together. The driver in Europe is the carbon emissions reduction regulation that started in 2012,

this was the first year of more stringent carbon emission reduction thresholds in Europe,

accordingly most automakers are manufacturing with stop start idle systems. In the US regulations

will be enforced in the following years. European and Japanese cars with stop start idle systems

are being imported into the US.

Today the worldwide automotive production is 70 million taking in China and other places

producing regions. So clearly the opportunity in automotive is enormous.

Stop Start Idle Systems are kind of a new phenomenon, Prius and other hybrid cars and some

electric vehicles have them, so the supercapacitor market value potential in automobiles is higher

than in buses, although the supercapacitor content per bus is higher.

So today we have 37 million supercapacitor revenue in buses and 14 million in cars, following the

trends in the future the supercapacitor sales in cars will surpass sales in buses.

Yutong, the biggest bus manufacturer in the world, is really eager to be an exporter highly efficient

hybrid transit buses, following the trend in carbon reduction emissions globally.


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The Bus segment was 37 million in 2011 and they expect revenues higher than 55 million this year,

approaching a 50% increase, year by year for hybrid transit buses. They don’t think 50% increase

year over year will be sustained in the following years since one reason of this growth 2011 is

because they got Yutong as a client. Higher market share has driven Maxwell growth rather than

market growth. Yutong shares with them their sales projections and they see growth but not at 50%

increase in the years after 2013.

Another client is the French automotive company PSA with stop start idle elimination system in

some of their diesel automobiles. PSA sales have been soft this year.

What about the vehicle power network smoothing and stabilisation application (mentioned in their

annual report)?

PSA uses supercapacitors not only for starting the engine when the brake is released where the UC

delivers the burst power for restarting the engine. UC are used as reservoir of standby power when

too many electrical loads are competing for the power available from the 14 V electrical system so

the incorporate voltage stabilisation feature that relies on the supercapacitor module.

They also see automakers working on systems that are not necessarily for stop start applications.

They use them for another application that in Europe is called board net stabilisation –this

application uses Maxwell supercapacitors. This has only been used by the PSA system. The auto

industry better understands where supercapacitors could be useful and why. Maxwell won their

recognition as supplier in the auto industry after going through a very rigorous qualification

process. This is the TS16949 Quality Standard specific for the auto industry. They implemented this

standard in their own facilities as well as their assembly partners offshore.

They took a couple of years , increase quality staff, as they established off shore places as well,

they got quality audits from the automotive customers. Their key customers today is the German

tier 1 auto parts company, Continental AG, supplies the integrated system that PSA uses in their

start stop cars. Continental has audited their electrode manufacturing operations in California as

well as supercapacitor assembly offshore. This is a must for the auto industry, this is an expensive

process. Hired quality staff and implemented practices, yes there has been expense in that, they

have been investing in this process. How much? In the range of million of dollars.

Investment in RD - Last year this was 20 million and a high percentage of this has been focused for

supercapacitor. In excess of 15 million would be for supercapacitors, this includes both product

development and basic research in improving material science.

Besides transport, what would be the second application?

Renewable Energy

Wind Turbine blade pitch systems – second generator of revenue for Maxwell.


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From the total 97 million revenue in 2011 of the supercapacitor segment, 22 million came from

renewable energy applications, over 20% of sales. It will be little greater in absolute terms this year,

but still be roughly 20% sales in 2012. Enercon was their original customer. They have been

supplying to other OEM and prominently in China.

Are you developing more clients in this segments?

Yes a couple. Enercon has been customer since 2004 when they had their first supply agreement,

they are a technology leader, they have fought for and received patents in the use of

supercapacitors in wind turbines. This restricted Maxwell’s ability to sell to other wind turbine

producers. But they got a license 3 years ago from Enercon, that allowed them to sell to other

producers. So their business has grown substantially.

Which other companies are using them? A number in China, publicly identified is Gold Wind and

Sinovel, both of them use their supercapacitors but this has not been officially announced.

Are you looking at the consumer electronics segment?

They are exploring how they can penetrate the consumer electronics segment. It requires very

small form factors. Their Asian competitors in Japan, Korea and China are very strong in that

space already. They believe they have some opportunities, Maxwell has some product

developments. But this is not the focus now, but it will be in the future. They have been approached

by some tech companies that make consumer electronics that have encouraged them to develop

products that fit the technical dimensions for their products.

Applications in Consumer electronics: Mobile Devices – if they are transmitting they consume more

energy than in stand by state. Smartphone with flashes. For operations that require a burst of high

current supercaps are ideal . They believe that in the future they will see more integration of

battery and supercaps will increasingly used.

What about Solid State Disk Drives?

They have seen their products again having traction in providing back up power at enterprise level

solid state drive. Drive marketing –“Powerloss protection”, the drive would have a small

Uninterruptible Power Supply using supercapacitors on the circuit board, the data can be stored to

non volatile memory and recoverable. They have not seen their products in the consumer

electronics segment yet. Although SSD are beginning to penetrate. Hey have seen only in the SSD

level at enterprise level. They sold 8 million usd in 2011. They think they can further penetrate with

some of the new product development initiatives that they are making.


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Which is the company using your SC in SSD?

Aa large Korean company of SSD. They can’t share the name of the company. This product is size of

a postage stamps couple mm thick, thin prismatic form factor. “We take SSD as part of a power

back up vertical.” They also make an UC capacitor module using a large cell products modules.

Power Back up?

Large cell products as an element of UpS used in the basement of a hospital data center or

telecommunications facility. This UPS module is much larger uses 20 of their large soda can size

UC. Stationary systems often have a diesel generator batteries or fuel cell all installed in

equipment racks. Whereas being able to fit the back power device into a SSD is small in

comparison.

Lifting Applications? People speak about forklifts, is this another segment for you?

They have sales in this segment but they don’t see any growth. In another lifting applications like

harbour cranes they are seeing traction. In these applications as the load is being lowered a break

system has to be applied, if the load is lifted with an electric motor then you can use it to recover

energy using the electric motor for braking and store it in ultracapacitor to assist in the lift later on.

In the case of Harbor cranes often use diesel power so they can reduce the size of the diesel engine

while using supercapacitors and reduce fuel consumption and hence reduce emissions in the

shipping ports. Port facilities are experiencing the problems that we have seen in cities, in terms of

particulate emissions. A lot of ports around the world have emission driven hybridization programs

under way so they are seeing a lot of activities.

Off Road Vehicles?

Uptake in off road vehicles as mining equipment and construction equipment and other off road

vehicles

Is this a big segment?

You don’t have the volume as hybrid buses. The content per vehicle is substantial. So they are

working with the OEM to deliver the approapiate solution.

Is this already implemented?

They have delivered the first vehicles, but they are in an early introduction of products. Caterpillar

is producing this mining equipment, Kamatsu in Japan has been using ultracapacitors from a

Japanesse supplier.


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Engine starting for trucks.

Heavy diesel trucks are having more starting issues not only because of cold weather but because

in the US at least there are anti-idling laws. They don’t allow the trucks to idle during deliveries.

They use to leave the truck running. Even the heating cabs for the drivers, they have heating and air

conditioner and entertaining, the practice is to leave the engine on sometime in the middle of the

night, to keep the batteries charged and keep all those driving comfort features on. Many states in

the US are instituted anti idling laws, so they are trying to run those so call hotel loads off of the

batteries. Batteries are sometimes low state of charge particularly if temperature is low. And

batteries starting failures are becoming an issue in the truck industry. Maxwell last year introduced

an UC module specifically for assisting starting heavy trucks. These products are now being tested

and evaluated by more than 10 large fleets. They have a development products for the European

market, the first product 10V is for a America, and the 24V is designed for the European market. In

the heavy trucks they carry four lead acid batteries, the product is the same size of a battery would

substitute one battery from the four the batteries.

It will literally relieve the batteries for starting the vehicule. This will expend the battery life

substantially.

Will this segment overcome the other application segments (KERS and torque augmentation)?

It can be because this is an aftermarket product, and they are being sampled by the truck OEM and

they expect them to embrace the product at least as an option if not standard equipment on new

trucks. At the same time they have the SC installed in large fleets of trucks in the aftermarket

where the users have records of failures (statistics) so they are sophisticated users. They are

seeing the first fleets that have tested the products having increased interests in the product, and

looking to implement the product across their fleets next year. So this product will be a big

contributor to sales next year. 10 million of sales next year in the US. They have seen a lot of

interest in this product from the marine industry (boats of all types) and the military vehicle market

will be receptive of this product, construction and mining equipment, diesel generators for back up

power. All the places where you have a diesel engine expected to start many times. This engine

starting module is designed to guarantee reliable start in all conditions.

Asymmetric Supercapacitors?

They have looked at it, they don’t produce such product today. They are more battery like than their

products. They have some limitations in terms of cold weather conditions and higher internal

resistance. They are working in what they think will be the next generation of ultracapacitor

technology that will provide increased energy density but is a different path different from an

asymmetric technology.

They announced a funding grant from Advanced Battery Energy Consortium, Higher Energy Density

UC, they are pursuing this technology. This tech would allow products with higher energy density


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than their current products. Would this have a similar energy density as a lithium battery? They

can’t say it will have the same energy density but same substantial more energy density than their

current technology portfolio.

Current products operate just below 2.7 Volts and they expect than in the future they expect 3 Volts

with current activated carbon technologies. There are things in development, could contribute to

energy density Carbon Nanotubes and Graphene, they are interested and working on them, but they

don’t find them to be commercially feasible today. Their goal would be to have a product that

approaches 4 Volts some time in the future.

A timeline?

They can’t provide a timeline, but they have been working on this more than a year. They joined RD

collaborations a program in Europe, the Fraunhofer Institute, funded by the EU. And they joined a

group funded by the state in Ohio US: there is a graphene producer in there. Maxwell was invited to

join the groups, based on their manufacturing and industry capabilities. These products are novel

and the producers are not experienced in producing UC products. They look to them to give them

feedback and direction to bring these novel materials to the place where they are manufacturable

and where they can be integrated to UC. Secondly what is the cost, there are very exciting things

happening in the lab but in some cases the cost are very high. As mentioned before they are

looking to reduce their costs dramatically because in many cases they are competing with

inexpensive technologies as lead acid batteries, so anything that raises the cost is going to limit the

range of applications they can address.

There are certainly some applications that can tolerate higher costs, but the major of applications

are very cost sensitivies.

Do you see any niche market for higher costs?

The reason of the collaboration is to look closely, with then intention to build their business when it

make sense, but they have concluded that they have not yet identified a market to integrate these

materials.

What would be the capacity expansion?

In dollar terms, today in San Diego, $130 million revenue capacity. To a new generation of

fabrication equipment that will match the current output in San Diego. They have 4 lines in San

Diego, in Arizona it will be one. So they would double capacity to $260 million revenue capacity.

When will this plan will be producing, likely by mid year 2013 based on demand, equipment has

been required. They thought originally that it would be online at Q4 2012, but based on reduced

demand they pushed it to mid 2013.


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Press interviews

Reporting to the press in 2012, company president and CEO David Schramm said, “Continued

demand for ultracapacitor-based energy storage systems to power hybrid electric transit buses

helped to offset softness in other applications.”

In 2012, we asked for his views by email and he wrote unenthusiastically about the potential for

supercapacitors in pure electric cars.

In his review in August 2012 of the second quarter 2012 results, David Schramm said to the press,

“We’re pleased to report that Maxwell recorded total revenue of $40.9 million of the second quarter

into June 30th, 2012. Well, that’s 12% sequentially from the first quarter and up 6% from the same

quarter a year ago.

Ultracapacitor sales totaled $24.2 million, up 10% sequentially from the first quarter, but down

slightly from the second quarter of 2011 due mainly to continuing soft demand in Europe. Second

quarter sales of microelectronics and high voltage capacitor products came in at $16.7 million,

down a bit from the unusually high sales posted in the first quarter, but up 19% from last year’s

second quarter.

A particular note is that despite the challenging global economic environment, a favorable revenue

mix and careful expense control enable the company to post net income of $2.7 million or $0.09 per

share for the quarter. That compares with the loss of $0.04 per share in the same period last year.

On a non-GAAP basis, net profit for Q2 was $3.5 million or $0.12 per share compared with $0.06

per share in Q2 last year.

Now, this was the ninth consecutive quarter the company has been profitable on a non-GAAP basis.

As noted in our press release, ultracap sales continue to be impacted by economic conditions in

Europe and elsewhere. But that softness is being offset by growing demand in China driven mainly

by ongoing infrastructure investments in both public transit and wind energy.

Wind turbine deployments in China continue to rebound from the government post slow down, we

experience in the second half of last year. In fact, wind-related sales in the first quarter totaled

more than the two previous quarter combined and increased further sequentially in Q2.

Looking ahead, China’s five-year plan calls for wind energy to account for 3% to 5% of the country’s

total power generation by 2020. So we anticipate same demand for our products. Ultracapacitor

sales for hybrid bus drive systems haven’t missed a beat as the Chinese central government and

many regional and local governments continue to provide subsidies and policy support for

hybridization of public transit vehicles to both improve fuel efficiency and to reduce urban air

pollution.

We’re well aware that headlines predicting slower growth for the Chinese economy and the

upcoming change in leadership raise questions about the sustainability of Maxwell sales into China.


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But there’s every indication that these infrastructure investments will continue to be a high priority.

Information we received recently indicates that the subsidized transit bus privatization program for

25 major cities, has been so successful that the government intends to extend it to a number of

additional cities.

And with the experience that they have gained through policies supported programs and their

advantageous cost position versus competing OEMs in Asia, Europe, and North America, our

Chinese wind and bus customers are beginning to win on substantial export business around the

world.

There was a report a couple of months ago that one of our contract manufacturers, was selling its

own branded ultracapacitor products to Maxwell customers directly. And the implication was that

this was being done without our knowledge. Maxwell sells electrode to all of our contract

manufacturers, and then purchases the completed cells for our own consumption.

We have an agreement with the contract manufacturer, referenced in this report. It’s a private label,

and sell the product locally, to customers that Maxwell may not be able to gain. This agreement

dates back to 2009, and has proven successful in increasing our sales for our proprietary electrode

which was produced only within the secure facilities located in the US. Further, Maxwell sells

electrode on a global basis to competitors, and our electrode is recognized as a premium product.

Moving on to Europe, although soft automobile sales across the board have tampered our near

term expectations for sales growth with the ultracapacitor base stop, start, idle elimination system,

Continental has developed for PSAs, Fuzio and Zitron cars.

That program continues to account for a meaningful share of ongoing ultracapacitor sales. With

about half million of PSAs ultracapacitor equipped micro hybrids now in the road, questions about

ultracapacitor’s reliability in performance, and Maxwell’s capabilities as a supplier have been

answered in the affirmative.

We have nothing new to report on the long awaited next automotive program wind, but additional

OEMs, including one in Detroit are evaluating the Continental system. In addition, other Tier One

automotive suppliers and automakers are working on their own designs employing ultracapacitors.

So we remain confident that it’s not whether, but when, for the penetration of the auto market will

happen.

As reported earlier, the BARTA transportation is a leader producer of rail vehicles, and rail

transportation equipment, systems and services, has designed Maxwell ultracapacitors into its

energy store, braking energy recuperation system for light rail vehicles. These are stationary

energy storage units that capture and store energy that otherwise would be wasted in conventional

friction based braking systems.


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In network on these units, can enable rail system operators to reduce grid power consumption, by

20% to 30%. They also serve as a backup energy source to provide enough power to get trains to

the next station in event of a power outage.

The BARTA and other rail vehicle OEMs also produce on-vehicle systems. They use ultracaps for

energy storage. So we expect to have some good news on electric rail design. A number of other

applications have begun driving meaningful volumes that are helping us grow ultracapacitor sales.

These include postage stamp size, PC-10 cells, they go into data storage devices, called solid state

disk drives, or SSDs. Our products are used in SSDs for enterprise level computing installations

such as data centers.

The ultracaps are mounted right on the circuit board where they stand ready to provide a few

seconds of instantly available back up power to allow work in process to be saved in the event of a

power interruption. PC-10s also provide power for wireless transmitters that allow smart utility

meters to transmit data, and to be read remotely.

Last year, we launched an ultracapacitor module designed specifically to handle brief power

disturbances, and provide short term bridge power to hold voltage constant until primary backup

power source within an integrated uninterruptible power supply system takes over. This UPS

module has been designed in the systems going into hospitals and other new installations that will

come online in the next few months.

Another new ultracapacitor product, an engine start module that asists an onboard jumpstart

power source for hard to start diesel trucks is in field trials with several large truck fleets. The

feedback has been uniformly positive, and some of the fleet operators have taken additional units

to expand their trials.

We also entered into a distribution agreement with Pana-Pacific which specializes in truck

products. Pana has relationships with more than 2,000 truck dealers, OEMs, and OE part

distribution centers in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. This module is the same size and

shape as the Group 31 batteries that heavy trucks carry. So it’s an easy to install, drop-in

replacement for one of the trucks four existing batteries.

It addresses a growing problem with trucks’ starting failures due to cold weather and overworked

batteries as a result of anti-idling laws in more than 30 states. With more than 2 million heavy

trucks currently on the road in North America we are focusing initially on the aftermarket, while

simultaneously working with the truck OEMs to get our engine start module qualified and designed

in as a standard for new trucks.

Engine starting is also an issue for delivery vans, military vehicles, boats, backup power generators

and construction and mining equipment. So we’re in the process of developed variance of this initial

product to address what we think can become a much broader global engine starting module.


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Ultracapacitor sales accounted for about 59% of total sales in the second quarter. As we reported

earlier, we have double ultracapacitor production capacity over the past couple of years and we’re

moving ahead with additional investments in capacity expansion in research and development and

other resources to support further growth.

Last year, we moved into a new expanded technology center here in San Diego and we are in the

process of outbidding a second electrode production facility in the Phoenix, Arizona area. When we

bring it online next spring, it will double electrode production capacity in 123,000 square foot

building we have leased there provides ample growth space for further capacity expansion and

other engineering and manufacturing activities going forward.

Educating the market on ultracapacitor technology has been a strategic thrust for Maxwell for the

last several years. And we are seeing significant interest in our ESN and UPS systems, both of

which are aimed at the US market.

Coupled with the other systems already launched, we are prepared for the economic turnaround in

the US and in Europe but will not take our eye off at China.

As we stated in our press release, we expect sales in the third quarter to increase by 7% to 10%

sequentially compared with the second quarter. For the full year, we are maintaining our total

topline growth forecast of 15% and still seek potential for up to 20%. That should enable us to

generate cash from operations and be solidly profitable.

Now, despite those healthy and improving vital signs, our tapered growth expectations and

uncertainty about how global economic turmoil and government policy may affect our business

have driven Maxwell stock price down the level not seen since 2009.

Every Maxwell employee from the corner office to the factory floor is a stockholder, so this has

been a painful experience we’re all concerned. You may have noticed that I and several members of

our board of directors have been buying stocks through this downturn as have many other

employees whose purchases aren’t reported in SEC filing. We are believers, this is a growing

profitable company, and a world leader in energy storage products and technology.

Maxwell’s best days lie ahead, so we’re going to keep our heads down, keep our spirits up, and

continue executing and the tremendous opportunities are people and our products are creating.

The above partly contains Transcript by Seeking Alpha, edited and shortened by IDTechEx.

David Schramm’ report on Q2 2011 had been equally informative. We show extracts below, edited

and adapted from transcript by Seeking Alpha.


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Question-and-Answer Session

Ben Schuman - Pacific Crest Securities

Hi, thanks. So just to be clear, you guys soften the language a little bit around the top end of the

guidance range, and didn’t mention non-GAAP profitability at least in the press release although

you just alluded to it a minute ago. I mean are these subtle changes to guidance language a

function of lower conviction, or am I just reading too much into that, and kind of what end market

will be driving that lower conviction?

David Schramm

Yes, so I think the change – in the language related to the guidance is softening the top end as you

can see from our results for this quarter, we have a little bit more deterioration in Europe than we

anticipated, and we came in below into the guidance of 4%.

As far as non-GAAP profitability, at this point, our forecast has us continuing the profitability that

we had this quarter, I should say increasing it, and we would be profitable not only on a non-GAAP

basis, but a GAAP basis as well for each of the third and fourth quarters and for the full year.


Okay, great. And then it looks like PSA just looking through some of its filings has almost double

the amount of cars available with the EHDI, start stop system which I would think would help offset

some of the declining overall sales that they’re seeing. Do you have a sense of what the uptick is, of

that system kind of within PSA, and how can we think about that just relative to the overall macro

weakness that those guys are seeing?

David Schramm

All the feedback, Ben, that we’ve gotten so far from PSA, they’ve been very satisfied with the

Continental VSS system. And you’re right, they have expanded the number of vehicles that they put

it into, at the same time, their sales, as you’ve seen in the paper have soften. So the whole effect of

Europe right now, is impacting our business. The automobile business as long as PSA is adding

models, it kind of keeps us flat.

What we’re looking forward to is when the second, third, fourth, and fifth car customer sign on to

buy the Continental system.


Do you know anything with regards to their timeline in terms of when they would want to update

that technology or re-evaluate suppliers or anything like that?

David Schramm

I’m not aware. All I can tell you is my experience of work in the automobile industry, it’s typically

when you put into a model, it lasts at least five years before you’d have a significant model change.


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Chris Godby - Stephens

First of all, can you give us a little bit more color on the improvement in the wind market? Are the

improvements you are seeing their broad base or are you seeing any pockets of weakness, still?

David Schramm

What we’ve seen there, is we’ve increased the number of customers that we have. And again, the

wind market uptick we’ve seen is specific to China. So we’ve seen the number of customers

increase, and again, the business got so soft in the last half of 2011.

And as I commented, Q1 was bigger than the last two quarters last year, and Q2 is bigger than Q1.

So we’re seeing a comeback. We don’t think it’s going to come back at the growth that we saw the

first half of 2011, but at least it’s starting to stabilize. And as we add more customers, we should be

able to show some growth in that field.

Chris Godby - Stephens

Okay, great. Thanks a lot. And then also, looking at SG&A, it’s down quite a bit both looking at last

quarter and looking at the prior year, can you maybe talk a little bit more about your cost reduction

efforts?

Kevin Royal

Sure. We were very selective with our hiring, and basically focused on areas that would drive future

growth such as R&D. We also had during the quarter lower bonus expense as we reduce the

accrual rate in light of the lower outlook from the previous quarter. And then on a positive note, we

had lower administrative fees associated with legal and audit and tax fees that accounted for about

$600,000 to $700,000 of that decline.

Michael Lew - Needham

Okay. And you also mentioned an opportunity with the electric grid. Do you have anything on, any

ongoing initiatives in India?

David Schramm

We’ve been talking to global players on the smart grid and the answer is, yes, we’re going to be

everywhere. And again, when you take a look at where the most opportunity is for us, it’s Brazil,

Russia, India and China. It’s where they’re developing a grid, because the sense we see from the

people we work with is putting in a new grid is probably going to be a lot faster than trying to

retrofit the ones that already exist. So we think the uptick is going to be a little quicker there.


Yes. Have you sized that opportunity in India currently or how large you could be just given the

recent issues they’ve had?

David Schramm

That’s a good question. Timing is everything, but we have not sized that opportunity


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Okay. And can you provide like a geographic mix by region for the ultracap hybrid bus business and

like what comment on what the growth rates were or declines during the past quarter?

David Schramm

It’s been China-driven, Michael. We don’t see a gain with the European softness. That softness is

about every sector that we’re in and, of course, the hybrid bus has not really taken off in North

America. So there’s both opportunities for us in the near future with North America as well as

Europe and we want to maintain our significant presence we have in China.


That’s pretty much all China, you’d say?

David Schramm

China predominates the market for us, yes.


Okay. And as you mentioned before, the government has announced intentions to support EV type

of growth. Since that’s been announced, have you see an acceleration in quotation activity? And the

same for the French government, which recently announced plans too.

David Schramm

Yes. The Chinese government, we read – it was online article thought up by the Chinese State

Department that says that the hybrid buses have been so successful that they’re going to expand

that program past the initial 25 cities that they originally announced. We don’t have a firm number

what that is. But right now, the bus companies we work with are very, very aggressive, if you will, on

what they see coming for the rest of this year. In Europe, we see that just not catching on just yet.

And like I said, the US market really hasn’t embraced hybrid buses.

Matt Phil - Roth Capital

First of all, nice job in the quarter. And just had a couple of questions. First, we wanted to get a

sense for the progress that you guys had in the truck ESN business. How is it ramping relative to

what you guys had expected?

David Schramm

The way it’s ramping, Matt, is we have got fleets now taking their second tranche of doing more and

more depot work. So we’ve been working with some major truck fleets. And as we’ve had success

with two or three other depots, they’ve now ordered extra parts to go into several more other

depots. And we’re highly confident that there had such good success that we’re going to end up

having some good news here within the next couple of quarters


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Matt Phil - Roth Capital

Okay, great. And I think it might have been touched on before, but can you guys comment a little bit

on – last quarter, you said you’re seeing some daylight in the sales efforts in the wind market in

China. I just wanted to see sort of how your H2 is tracking. Is it looking more Q4 weighted? I mean,

is there going to be some volume in Q3 as well?

David Schramm

I think as I said in the comments, Q1 was bigger than Q3 and Q4 last year and Q2 was bigger than

Q1 of this year. So we’re starting to see that market come back.

Josh Baribeau - Canaccord

Hi. Thanks. It’s Josh Baribeau for Jed. Just a couple for me. Just doing the math on your guidance

of 15%, maybe 20%, for the full year and then I think 7% to 10% for Q3. That indicates a pretty large

ramp in Q4. So can you provide a little bit more – oh, I know I guess it’s China wind and China

hybrid that we drive at. But if you could provide a little bit more comfort, I guess, around why you

think Q4 is going to be so large or maybe the answer is, are you just being more conservative with

Q3?

David Schramm

I think the answer lies in the State Department. The one we saw from China that says they’re

expanding the bus market and we’re starting to see more and more activity in our hybrid bus

business.

So, Q3 was a great quarter for us on buses, our Q2, excuse me. And we look at Q3 as continuing

that effort and Q4 to finish out really strong. So, right now we’re pretty optimistic that the hybrid

bus business is going to be a growing business, specifically in China for the rest of this year.


Okay. And I understand that a lot of these new markets are a bit of a missionary sale whereas your

product is a little bit higher upfront but leads to longer life and all the other benefits. So, it’s really

a cost of ownership story.

What are some of the things that you can do to take that cost out of the ultracap to make it more

competitive on an apples-to-apples basis? Or if you kind of reach the limit there and you really have

to sell the cost ownership story.

David Schramm

Yes. Well, and again when you say apples to apples, it’s what’s the other apple you want to look at

because –


Well, say, batteries.


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David Schramm

Okay. And a battery is an energy generator. We’re an energy storage device. And the only way we

could look at this is through a value proposition. And a value proposition is through the warranty or

the lifetime of the application. We’ve got a lot of data that suggest that the ultracap really can do a

better job.

As we stated in the past, we’ve got an awful lot of data that shows that if you put a battery in

conjunction with the ultracap, you can generate a better systems that lowers your overall system

cost. The data we’re working on, we’re looking at what happens to battery life if you don’t cycle the

battery and you let the ultracap do the cycling and the battery do the energy.

And we believe you’re going to extend the battery life as well as have a more effective power system.

And that’s exactly what’s happening with the PSA system that they’re using with the Continental.

The VSS system, the voltage stabilization system. It’s using two ultracap to supplement the battery.

And they’re seeing great improvements in lifetime and the affectivity of the system.


Okay. And then finally, have you changed the acceleration or the rate of the expansion and the new

electrode facility as a result of either just access the capital or the slowdown in Europe? Or is that

still going ahead of plan?

David Schramm

It’s not an access to capital issue at this point. It’s strictly the European has – the European

economic situation has slowed down the overall market force, which is why we changed the

guidance last quarter. Europe is just not doing what we thought two years ago we’d be enjoying in

Europe.

We also didn’t think it would be in $1.20 range on the euro a year and a half ago.

So, a lot has changed. So what we’ve been doing is fostering ourselves so that when Europe finally

does turnaround, we’re going to be prepared for it.

So, Phoenix right now, we’re probably a quarter away from what we thought a year and a half ago.

But the equipment is still coming in. Financing is not an issue. And we will be completing the

building and installing the equipment and going early next year.

Tom Daniels - Stifel Nicolaus

Just in regards to the HP capacitor business in the Russian grid project, do you guys think this

could sequentially grow throughout the year?

David Schramm

Actually, it’s a project as you said there, Tom. We work with major contractors, and as they put in

the new grid systems and they put in the infrastructure, we are basically with them.


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So, as they put in more systems throughout the world, and again, it’s the Brit nations that we see

this. But it’s a pretty steady business. It seems like as they put in one grid, another one pops in.

So, we still see that as a high-single digit growth business for Maxwell for the next year.


Okay. Do you think that can last in the 2013, from what you can tell right now?

David Schramm

I don’t see any reason why it won’t continue to be a single digit type growth business.


Okay. Great. And then the pricing on your truck starters, I believe maybe at 1.8. You said it was

$1,300. How do you expect that pricing to trend kind of as we go forward and as that product

matures? Do you think they can stay around there? Is it going to get priced down pretty

aggressively?

David Schramm

Well, the thing that I was working on is we’ve got to get the cost down before you get the price down.

And we are taking the cost down. We are reducing the cost of our electrode. We’re reducing the

cost of our assembly. We’re reducing the cost of how we put modules together and all the parts to

go into the module.

It’s probably the biggest driver, of course, like in any business is volume is a great contributor. So

as the volume goes up, our cost goes down. And as our cost goes down, those are – I call them very

elastic markets which means that we have got to match the pricing with the volume. So the lower

the price, the more volume to get, the more cost we drive out, and that’s the Utopian answer for us

on that product line.


Okay. Can that really grow by fourth quarter this year? Or do you think that’s more of a 2013

opportunity?

David Schramm

I think with both the evaluations going on right now, it’s definitely a 2013 operation, and I think we’ll

see a little bit of an uptick in the latter half of this year, but the significant growth can start next

year.

Chris Kovacs - Robert Baird

Hi guys, thanks for taking my question. So obviously now we’re in Q3, and I’m sure you have pretty

good visibility into the upcoming quarter with the guidance you gave, but do guess it’s more

comfortable with Q4 – can you give us a sense of what amount of that potential revenue you need to


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achieve in the fourth quarter that you already have some sort of visibility into your – essentially have

contacted to be delivered?

David Schramm

I guess the best way to look at that is the confidence we have in what’s going on the hybrid bus and

the wind business. The assumption we’re making right now is that there probably won’t be a whole

lot of growth in Europe for the rest of this year.

And our North American presence has never been as high as we think it’s going to be here in the

next year. So it’s how well China is going to grow. And right now, everything we see, says it’s going

to continue the growth cycle through the rest of this year.

So we’re going with what our customers are telling us, and what they’re seeing, and everything

we’re reading. So our confidence is with that announced in the press release today.


Okay. And can you give a commentary about how wind has trended the last couple of quarters.

You’re saying Q1 was better than Q3 and Q4 of last year combined. How has the hybrid bus been

trying to trend over that same period?

David Schramm

It’s been going up steadily.

David Schramm

The beauty of that is we’ve been adding more and more customers. And as the state has gotten

more and more comfortable, they’ve added more cities that require these buses.

So we’re seeing – we’re enjoying a very nice growth cycle right now on hybrid buses.


Can you kind of quantify for us the average of the CAGR on that or quarterly growth rate? Or

ballpark even?

David Schramm

That’s really difficult to do it this time. All I can tell you is on a macro level, it’s going to continue to

grow throughout the year. Part of the problem is, this is a pretty lumpy business. It’s actually easier

to predict what’s going to happen on a year basis, not a quarterly basis.

But again, right now, as we reiterated in the press release, 15% for the year, and there’s still a

potential to get that up to 20%.


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Okay. And just a last question. Did you expect the somewhat elevated levels of HBC in

microelectronics revenue to continue the rest of the year? Or should that kind of normally sort of

go away this quarter?

David Schramm

Well, those are both – the microelectronics business is historically lumpy. And what we’ve said is,

that year over year, it’s going to be single digit growth. And the high voltage looks, year over year,

it’s going to be a high single digit growth.So I think we’ll see a little bit more throughout the rest of

the year, but the real growth engine is going to be the ultracapacitors.

Colin Rusch - ThinkEquity

Good afternoon gentlemen. The cost of engineering here is actually pretty impressive. Can you talk

a little bit of what’s going on in the manufacturing portion of your business, and then also the SG&A

segment, and a little bit more detail on how we should think about that going forward?

David Schramm

Yes, we’ll take that in two parts here. On the cost reduction side, I tell you, I get a lot of applause to

our engineering groups. The engineers have figured out how we get cost out, and as we get more

volume up, we see more opportunities as you how you get cost out.

Material sourcing is one that gives us a little cost volume, gives us a lot of cost, in designing the

product with better component has given us a lot of cost. So we’re on track to continue our cost

reduction. I tell you, five years ago, it was easy to take a $10 bill out of a product, and now it’s

looking like the nickels, dimes and quarters are where we got to aim.But we still see some cost

reduction, we got to look at redesign efforts. At some point in time, you reach your volume level

that you can afford to take a look and redesign your complete product line. And that will get us to

the next layer of cost reduction. At this point, I don’t see an end in sight as to where we run out of

cost to take out a product.

Colin Rusch - ThinkEquity

Great. And then can you just talk about the number of engine start customers you have at this point

and then what the sales vol looks like on that product?

David Schramm

It’s several fleets at this point. I would dare say if add them all up, it’s at least seven of them and

we’ve got quite a few different depots. So one customer may have four or five different depots

they’re evaluating. And so, pretty pleased right now that we’re getting good footprint on the start of

the CSM.


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Supercapacitors and lead-acid batteries

MILTON, Ga., & SAN DIEGO, Calif. – November 13, 2012 – Exide Technologies (NASDAQ: XIDE), a

global leader in stored electrical energy solutions, and Maxwell Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:

MXWL), a leading developer and manufacturer of ultracapacitor products, today announced the

formation of a strategic alliance. The two companies will work together in the development and

marketing of advanced, integrated, battery-ultracapacitor energy storage solutions to be used in a

wide array of transportation and industrial applications.

Principal elements of the strategic alliance include:

Joint identification and evaluation of market opportunities for integrated products;

Collaborative product development and testing; and

Joint calls on prospective customers to establish demonstration projects.

“The integrated products developed through our alliance with Maxwell Technologies will provide a

wide range of benefits for users who require the most that today’s battery technology has to offer,”

said Paul Cheeseman, Exide’s Vice President, Global Engineering and Research. “These benefits

will include high energy density, rapid charging and discharging, extended operational life and

superior performance in extreme temperatures.”

Exide is the only battery company to provide product offerings across a range of applications in

both the transportation and industrial markets. With its AGM (Absorbent Glass Mat) technology that

allows for deep cycling combined with high charge acceptance, Exide supports Start-Stop vehicles,

energy recuperation, intelligent charging and other advanced power train features to reduce CO2

emissions and fuel consumption.

“Exide’s battery technology leadership, extensive manufacturing capabilities, established global

distribution channels and strong existing industrial and transportation customer relationships

make it an ideal alliance partner,” said David Schramm, Maxwell’s president and chief executive

officer. “We have always believed in the synergistic nature of ultracapacitors and batteries, and this

relationship will enable us to significantly accelerate development of products embodying the

benefits of both technologies.”

Maxwell’s ultracapacitor products store energy in an electric field, which is unlike batteries that

produce and store energy by means of a chemical reaction, This electrostatic energy storage

mechanism enables ultracapacitors to charge and discharge in as little as fractions of a second,

perform normally over a broad temperature range (-40 to +65C), and operate reliably for one

million or more charge/discharge cycles. Maxwell offers ultracapacitor cells ranging in

capacitance from one to 3,000 farads and multi-cell modules ranging from 16 to 125 volts.


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Maxwell Technologies Supplies Ultracapacitors To Power Multimedia And Passenger Comfort

Systems In London Cable Cars

Light Weight, Rapid Charging and Long Operating Life Enable High Tech Features

SAN DIEGO, Nov. 28, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Maxwell Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq: MXWL)

announced today that it is supplying ultracapacitors for a high-efficiency energy management

system that powers multimedia entertainment, lighting and air ventilation systems in the Emirates

Air Line, the UK's first urban cable car, carrying passengers across London's River Thames. The

new Emirates Air Line cable car system, operated by Transport for London, consists of 34 10-

passenger cabins manufactured by CWA Constructions SA of Switzerland. The Emirates Air Line

can carry up to 2,500 passengers per hour in each direction. It transported an estimated 20,000

passengers a day during the London 2012 Games for the trip connecting North and South London

from terminals located at the Greenwich Peninsula and Royal Docks. The roof-mounted

ultracapacitor modules are recharged by charging systems located in stations at each end of the

Emirates Air Line. Unlike batteries, which produce and store electrical energy by means of a

chemical reaction, Maxwell's ultracapacitors store energy in an electrical field within the

ultracapacitor cells. This electrostatic energy storage mechanism enables ultracapacitors to

charge and discharge in as little as fractions of a second, perform normally over a broad

temperature range (-40 degrees C to +65 degrees C) and operate reliably for up to one million or

more charge/discharge cycles.

"A battery-based system to power all of the entertainment and passenger comfort features the

operator wanted for these cabins would have been much too heavy to be practical," said Tobias

Haarmann, CWA's Head of Marketing. "Ultracapacitors also require little or no maintenance and

can be expected to last for a decade or more before needing to be replaced, making them a very

cost-effective solution for the operator."

"This is yet another example of how innovative companies such as CWA are finding new ways to

take advantage of ultracapacitors' efficiency, durability, light weight and other differentiating

characteristics," said David Schramm, Maxwell's president and chief executive officer.

About CWA: CWA Constructions SA/Corp. is the worldwide leader in the design, engineering and

manufacturing of vehicles for people mover systems, such as gondola cabins, aerial tramway cars,

funicular coaches, shuttles and monorails. CWA Constructions, a traditional Swiss company,

provides top services – everywhere and at all times. With cableway and rail vehicles, as well as

special construction in aluminum, we surpass the market standards as the accepted leader of the

global industry, through continual further development of state-of-the-art designs, forward-looking

construction solutions and comprehensive services.


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9.1.9. Nanotune Technologies USA

In May 2011, it was reported that, using a more expensive ionic-liquid electrolyte, it has made

ultracapacitors that store 35 watt-hours per kilogram. By the end of2011, the company hoped to

approximately double this storage capacity, said Nanotune CEO Kuan-Tsae Huang. At 40 Wh/kg ,

the ultracapacitors would be an improvement over the batteries used in some hybrid vehicles, it

was alleged. Eventually, Huang says, it may be possible to make ultracapacitors that store 500

kilowatt-hours per kilogram—about three to four times more than the lithium-ion batteries used in

cars today. The practical benefit could be even greater. Cars are often engineered to use only half

the storage capacity of their batteries, to keep them from degrading. But almost all of an

ultracapacitor's storage capacity can be used.

According to Next Future, Nanotune's technology is very expensive now—between $2,400 and

$6,000 per kilowatt-hour. (The Department of Energy has proposed a goal of $250 per kilowatt-

hour to make electric vehicles competitive with conventional ones.) Nanotune says, however, that

its costs could come down to less than $150 per kilowatt-hour if the prices of some key materials,

such as electrolytes, continue to fall, and as manufacturing is scaled up.

The company's energy-storage projections are based on several advances it is working on.

Nanotune is currently making electrodes with pores that are about 4 to 5 nanometers across, but it

says it can make them smaller (high porosity leads to high surface area, which makes it possible to

store a large amount of charge) and tune them to match the needs of different electrolytes—the

ion-conducting materials the electrodes are immersed in.

The company is also looking into using ionic liquids rather than conventional organic electrolytes.

These increase the voltage of the system, greatly increasing energy storage, but typically they

aren't compatible with conventional ultracapacitor electrodes. Finally, the company hopes to make

use of recent academic findings that suggests that adding small amounts of ruthenium to the

ultracapacitors can increase energy storage.

9.1.10. Nesscap Energy Inc Canada/Korea

Since its inception in 1999, Nesscap Inc., has become an award winning global leader in technology

innovation and product development of ultracapacitors. Attributes of the ultracapacitor allow for

the technology to be used in applications where power, life cycle requirements or environmental

conditions limit the suitability of batteries. Uniquely structured, Nesscap products are used to

replace or enhance the performance of energy and power needs for modern applications ranging

from portable electronic devices to high-tech 'green' cars and are available in both cells and

modules. Nesscap features the widest array of standard commercial products in the market from 3

farads to 6,200 farads with industry recognized alternative organic electrolytes. Customers of the

Company include transportation, power, industrial and consumer markets. Technical and sales

information can be found at www.nesscap.com.



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Apr. 19, 2011 (Marketwire Canada) -

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - Nesscap Energy Inc. ("Nesscap") (TSX VENTURE:NCE), a global leader in

research, development and manufacturing of ultracapacitor products, is pleased to announce that

the Company has signed an agreement to supply ultracapacitors valued at USD $3.2 million.

The agreement with Trainelec, a subsidiary of Spanish based CAF (www.caf.es), a world-class

railway vehicle manufacturer, calls for Nesscap to supply product with the option of increasing the

order size by 20%. This contract follows previous orders stemming from a development contract

with CAF in early 2007. The order is scheduled to be fulfilled through 2011.

"As a result of this latest contract, Nesscap will become the world's largest ultracapacitor supplier

to the tram industry," said Dr. Sunwook Kim, Chief Executive Officer of Nesscap Energy Inc. "As a

result of our focused development work for more than ten years with many global companies for

diverse applications, we are now seeing strong growth in commercial orders."

Nesscap's ultracapacitors will be used in trams serving major cities in Spain. Ultracapacitor-based

energy storage systems enable light rail vehicles or trams to travel without overhead power lines

or catenary power. Specifically, this system allows electrical power catenary to be installed locally

at the passenger stops, and, when the vehicle stops, the ultracapacitor energy storage system is

fully charged in about 25 seconds. This provides enough energy for the vehicle to reach the next

stop on the route with remarkable traction and auxiliary power performances. Ultracapacitors can

help reduce the energy consumption of a light rail or metro system by up to 30% by storing the

energy released when braking and using this energy during the next acceleration of the vehicle.

Moreover, lower peak current demand means that fewer substations are needed and they can be

further apart, which reduces infrastructure investment.

About CAF

Construcciones y Auxiliar de Ferrocarriles (CAF), S.A. is one of the international market leaders in

the design, manufacture, maintenance and supply of equipment and components for railway

systems (www.caf.es).

Trainelec is dedicated to the design, integration and production of electric traction systems for the

rail industry including all kind of rolling stock as LRVs, Metros, Commuter Trains and Locomotives.

Trainelec incorporates improved energy efficiency based on ultra-capacitors via train braking

energy recuperation. The accumulated energy in the ultra-capacitors during braking can be used

later to drive the train, thereby achieving an energy saving of as much as 30% (www.trainelec.com).

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - (Marketwire - Aug. 24, 2012) - Nesscap Energy Inc. ("Nesscap") (TSX

VENTURE:NCE), a global leader in research, development and manufacturing of ultracapacitor

products, today reported its financial results for the three-month and six-month periods ended

June 30, 2012.

http://www.trainelec.com/


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Sales for the three-month period decreased 40% to $2.8 million (USD), compared to $4.7 million

for the same period in 2011. Sales for the six-month period decreased 33% to $5.7 million from

$8.6 million in 2011. The decrease is primarily due to a significant drop in sales to one of the

Company's largest 2011 customers, overall soft demand at key accounts, and the continued

weakness of the European and Chinese economies. Net loss for the quarter was $769,177 or

$0.004 per ordinary share compared to a net gain of $42 thousand or $0.000 per ordinary share for

the same period in 2011. The reduction in net gain was due mainly to a reduction in revenues and

increase in sales, general and administration expenses. The Company had cash and cash

equivalents equal to $1.0 million and working capital of $13.2 million at the end of the quarter.

"In the second quarter, Nesscap experienced softness with a few of our customers, specifically in

the Euro zone." said Dennis Orwig, Chief Executive Officer of Nesscap Energy Inc. "We are, however,

aggressively pursuing new business and remain committed to executing our strategic and

operational initiatives, supported by continuing signs of long-term global growth in ultracapacitor

products and applications."

In May 2012, the Company established German-based Nesscap Energy GmbH, a wholly-owned

subsidiary of Nesscap Energy Inc. to expand business in Europe.

As a result of the completion of an equity financing previously announced in January 2012,

18,304,341 preferred shares, issued to Vardimco Enterprises Limited (since renamed I2BF Energy

Ltd., "I2BF"), were converted into common shares in May 2012. The Company completed its

external equity financing of $20 million from Open Joint Stock Company Rusnano, in Russia, and

I2BF, an affiliate of I2BF Holdings Ltd., in the British Virgin Islands.

Subsequent to the quarter end, the Company announced the closing of a USD $8.5 million private

placement of common shares from I2BF and Arbat Capital Group Ltd. ("Arbat Capital") at a price of

CAD 0.38 per common share. Proceeds will be allocated primarily to expand Nesscap's operations

in South Korea. The unaudited financial statements and related MD&A can be found on SEDAR at

www.sedar.com.

9.1.11. Nichicon Japan

Interviewing Nichicon at an exhibition in 2012, we established that a priority is electrical

engineering applications such as material handling but sales are, as yet, well behind market leader

Maxwell Technologies, they say it is partly because the Japanese leaders like them do not use

acetonitrile so certain key properties of these supercapacitors are inferior. Priorities declared then

were the Information, Communication and Special Power Supply markets and the Energy market

with a tentative plan to do high voltage versions for the latter.


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At Tokyo Big Sight in 2012, Nichicon exhibited supercapacitor-based electric vehicle fast charging

stations as shown below.

Fig. 9.6 Supercapacitor-based electric vehicle fast charging stations launched in 2012 by Nichicon.

Source IDTechEx

9.1.12. Nippon ChemiCon/ United ChemiCon Japan

Interviewing Nippon ChemiCon at an exhibition in 2012, we established that, as with Nichicon, a

priority is electrical engineering applications such as material handling but sales are, as yet, well

behind market leader Maxwell Technologies, they say partly because the Japanese leaders like

them do not use acetonitrile so certain key properties of these supercapacitors are inferior.


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Fig. 9.8 Nippon Chemi-Con low resistance DXE Series priority shown in 2012

Source IDTechEx

However, another major priority in 2012 has been vibration tolerant heavy duty supercapacitors for

material handling and similar applications.


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9.1.13. Yo-Engineering Russian Federation

New supercapacitor developer Yo Engineering in Moscow writes, "Recently, modern electric cars

and plug-in hybrids have been using lithium-ion cells, which have a series of significant

disadvantages, such as additional CO2 emissions during manufacturing, the need for recycling

after the end of their service life, the high cost of a car due to the application of expensive materials,

the limited distance achieved when operating only on battery power, lengthy charging times, large

mass, and the undeveloped infrastructure associated with such batteries, as well as the additional

electronics necessary to maintain a charge balance (without which the battery may fail or even

explode."

Taking these disadvantages into consideration, Yo-Engineering chose to use a supercapacitor in

place of a battery in an electric vehicle, noting that, "A supercapacitor can withstand a million

charge-discharge cycles, in comparison with lithium-ion cells that are designed for only 10,000

cycles.

Supercapacitors ensure stable operation in the -50 to +60 C temperature range, and the control

system developed by our engineers is resistant to extreme climate conditions. Supercapacitors

release their accumulated energy for the fast spinup of the ё-mobile's motor during dynamic

acceleration (standing start, brick acceleration, overtaking). When the ё-mobile reaches the

constant required speed, the supercapacitors are sufficiently charged to enable the acceleration of

the ё-mobile to maximum speed. In this case, the power generated by the generator is used to

maintain the motion at a constant speed. In the event of regenerative breaking, the supercapacitors

are charged from traction motors. As a result of this working algorithm, a reduction in fuel

consumption and hazardous emissions, as well as an increased level of performance, is observed.

In addition, the required amount of stored energy is less, and the battery's mass and cost is

reduced, respectively."

IDTechEx asked the following questions of Valery V. Graboshnikov, Deputy General Director LLC

"Yo-Engineering" 17 October 2012.

Can you tell me the latest situation with Yo-Engineering please?

We are designing SCs ourselves for our hybrid cars as well as for other applications. The latest

situation - we are in process of designing our prototype Generation "0" (G0). We are planning to

have first prototypes G0 in March - May 2013.

What applications will your designs make possible in the next ten years?

Our plans are to cover the needs of transport vehicles (cars, trucks & buses) as well as the needs

of private clients which are intent to use Micro CHP units.

Do you plan to manufacture supercapacitors at some stage?

At the moment we are considering several options: to manufacture ourselves or in cooperation with

existing SC manufacturer. Decision will be made later.


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We are sure that neither Impulse nor Power SCs can meet in depth the needs of any Client, so, the

Hybrid Energy Storage System is required. How it will look like depends on different circumstances

not all of which are clear at the moment.

Will you develop supercabatteries (AEDLCs) – if so what type? Or do you think, like some people,

that symmetrical supercapacitors can reach the energy densities of supercabatteries over the next

ten years?

Capacity of SC depends on the materials and design. The more progress will be made in material

design the more chances will be that SCs will come close to supercabatteries by the capacity and

performance.

9.1.14. Yunasko Russian Federation

In our interview with Vadim Utkin CEO in late 2012, they said they use acetonytrile (non aqueous)

electrolyte because it allows them to have high power. They say that aqueous electrolytes are

cheap but they don’t achieve high power. They know companies like Elton (Russia) that use

aqueous electrolytes.

Business Model

Yunasko is a 60 people company. They are basically a research and development company looking

for an industrial partner to scale the production of their technologies through licencing, strategic

partnerships or joint ventures. Half of their employees are involved in research and engineering

activities, some of the rest of the employees are occupied of manual manufacturing stages of

supercapacitors. They have key scientific personnel (4 employees) with more than 20 years of

experience in electric energy storage technology, some of them working previously for the former

Soviet Union. They have an office in London UK (Administrative and Legal Offices, IP rights and

patents) and R&D and pilot scale facilities in Ukraine. These have been funded through first round

of venture capital coming from Dekarta Capital (private equity and venture capital firm focused in

funding technology companies that have originated in Russia, Ukraine and Latvia, which have

clearly demonstrated their potential to become industry leaders in the global arena). They

mentioned that they would need another founding round by 2013. When asked what was the

amount of the first round they mentioned they would ask for permission to speak about this.

Through Dekarta Capitals’s website we found out that they typically invest in their selected

companies up to $1 million at the early stage and between $2 million and $15 million at later

stages.

When asked if they would partner with a competitor in the supercapacitor industry, Mr. Utkin said

that they don’t see an opportunity to merge with another company right now, but maybe in the

future.

In relation to the possibility of licencing their technology, they mentioned that they want to be very

careful with this option since the market is not cheap yet. They think they might miss interesting

opportunities if they give away the technology or give exclusivity. They are primarily interested in an


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industrial partner with manufacturing capabilities in Europe, USA or Asia. In their website they

mention that they would be interested to pursuit the model of selling key components – special

modified rolls and electrode rolls. Being potential customers of these products are industrial,

capacitor or battery companies. Additionally they mention that they are looking for Product

Development Partners, to find new opportunities for the product applications together with those

who are working on different engineering solutions.

Currently their only revenues come from selling prototype cells to potential customers and

partners. They receive additional funds from grants mostly from Europe. They are obviously not

covering fully their current expenses.

Manufacturing Capabilities

They have manufacturing capabilities at pilot plant scale. This plant has a capacity of 200

cells/month relying on automated and manual manufacturing stages. They have produced so far

around 4,500 cells so far. Looking for Industrial partners, they are sure that all of their

developments will be scalable at industrial scale, they regard this capability as one of their

strengths.

Regional Markets

“We are talking with many car manufacturers however Europe is not in a good shape for the car

industry. They are looking for the Chinese (no. 1 market for energy storage devices and specially for

supercapacitors) and US Markets”

Market Growth

They see a 20-23% growth per year. Maybe even more. Mr. Utkin mentioned that there are signs

that support this, for example he said that Maxwell Technologies will open a new manufacturing

plant in Arizona which would double their current production capacity (which he said it is 2 million

cells per year in 2011). He mentioned that Nesscap (South Korean company) is building a $20

million plant near St. Petersburg with Russian money and a capacity of 3 million cells/year.

Industry profitability

Mr. Utkin mentioned that as a benchmark it can be estimated that a supercapacitor plant begins to

be profitable when reaching 1 million cells/year (large supercapacitors).

Strengths

They regard as one of their core strengths the fact that through their Pilot Plant, they can be sure

that their R&D developments will be scalable to industrial scale, in Mr. Utkin words – “ We want

everything that is developed in our lab can be manufactured without the intervention of scientific

personal. You can see many start up energy storage companies delivering samples developed in

labs. The important question is whether their technologies will be able to be produced at a

manufacturing level”. The second advantage of having this pilot plant is that they are able to

produce cell and module samples for potential customers and clients.


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As mentioned before they don’t have industrial scale manufacturing facilities of their own and

hence they are actively looking for an industrial partner. Dr. Andrew Burke from the Institute of

Transportation Studies from the University of California Davis has tested the performance of their

products. Dr. Burke has worked in the standardisation of performance tests of supercapacitors.

Technologies and Development Pathways

Yunasko develops both supercapacitors (they call them carbon/carbon ultracapacitors) and they

have a new development, a supercabattery (they call them hybrid ultracapacitor).

They develop supercapacitors in compact prismatic design, they say is suitable for automotive.

Below are the results shared by Mr. Utkin, these were just received by them at the beginning of

September 2012.

Device C,

F

ESR,

m

RC,

sec

Energy,

Wh/kg

Power

(95% eff),

kW/kg

Match.Imped.

Power,

kW/kg

Yunasko SP-4a,b 1200 .11 .13 4.6 9.7 85.9

Yunasko SP-4a,b 1500 .10 .13 4.6 9.2 81.9

Yunasko SP-5c 1200 .08 .10 4.3 11.0 95.3

Yunasko-hybrid a,c 6000 1.0 6.0 36 4.5 ~40

a) ITS test results;

b) JME test results;

c) YUNASKO most recent test results

Source: Yunasko

Mr. Utkin mentioned that their supercabattery is ahead in terms of energy and power density in

relation to competition, but there is still work ahead.

On their website they have published test results from the Institute of Transport Studies from

University of California Davis (Dr. Andrew Burke).

Development Objectives

Energy Density

a) Supercapacitors Carbon – Carbon Devices

They have right now 6 Wh/l, next year 2013 they will accomplish 6.5 Wh/l,

They say that their competitors are power not energy devices.

He mentioned that by 2020 the industry could increase up to 7 Wh/l, not more, because of physical

limit.

b) Hybrid Ultrapacapitors - 30- 35 even 40 Wh/L


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Power Density

a) Supercapacitors - What they have now is 13 kW/L (95% efficiency) – 10 kW/kg

For automotive applications they tend to use more energy volumetric density.

They have a goal to reach by 2020, the energy density of 20 KW/L.

They mentioned that you could double the power easily by reducing the life time of the

supercapacitors (number of cycles). However they aim to increase power while keeping a number

of cycles close to 1 million and not to sacrifice the life of the device.

Cost

Manufacturing scale device – 13 usd/kW, and they want to achieve in the next 2 years 10 usd/kW,

and 2020 – 6.5 usd/kW.


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9.2. User interviews and inputs

9.2.1. Bombardier Canada

IDTechEx interviewed Lutz Ziegler, Business Development, Propulsion & Controls, Locomotives,

Light Rail Vehicles & Equipment, Bombardier at the IAA bus and truck exhibition in Hannover

Germany in September 2012. He pointed out that they do not make hybrid buses because they feel

that for city use, even large buses are viable in pure electric form (we heard the same view from

Bernd Maierhofer, Member of the Executive Board R&D (CTO) when he lectured at the co-located

Electric Vehicle Congress). Lutz said that they see no need for supercapacitors in their buses

because they have a lithium-ion battery that is extremely tolerant of fast charging. The most they

may want for the future is possibly a range extender for some models.

9.2.2. Hydrogenics Corporation USA

"In fuel cell vehicles, ultracapacitors have demonstrated a higher recovery of energy from braking

than batteries, are considerably lighter, have a longer economic life, and they are more

environmentally friendly in their manufacture and disposal," said Pierre Rivard, president and CEO

of Hydrogenics of Mississauga, Ontario, a clean power generation company in a press interview.

Looking beyond applications in cars, he continued, "When paired with fuel cells in stop-and-go

mobility applications, such as forklifts, ultracapacitors provide burst power for lifting and

acceleration and enable regenerative braking; in backup power applications [ranging from

hospitals to office buildings, factories, and homes], they provide instantly available short-term

bridge power. In many applications they buffer power demand peaks, allowing our scalable fuel cell

systems to be optimized for size and low cost."

9.2.3. Honda Japan

Honda Motor Company is using ultracapacitors in its FCX hybrid fuel cell vehicle, a few test models

of which are already on the road in California. According to a spokesman for Honda, "Utilizing

ultracapacitors, we have gained an edge in energy efficiency and throttle responsiveness over

competitors that are pursuing the hybrid battery/fuel cell model."

Honda had a program making its own supercapacitors but we have not been able to clarify whether

this has now been shut. Certainly things have gone quiet on this front.


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10. Developer, materials

supplier and academic

inputs

10.1. Daikin Industries Japan

At AABC in Florida in 2012, Diakin Industries explained how fluorination of electrolytes is increasing

the energy density of supercapacitors by increasing the cell voltage, this also increasing reliability

because high voltage stacks will have fewer connections. 3V was cited.


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Fig. 10.1 Daikin Industries display on fluorination of supercapacitor electrolytes

Source IDTechEx


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10.2. Hutchinson (TOTAL) France

Acetonitrile is used as electrolyte in some EV batteries and most EV supercapacitors. It is a very

nasty substance, being volatile, flammable, carcinogenic and, according to recent research causes

birth defects. At eCarTec lecturer Dr Philippe Sonntag Director E-Green Hutchison SA in France, a

company of TOTAL, revealed more.

He ran through calculations, using data from supercapacitor manufacturer Ioxus, that showed that

a large supercapacitor leaking in the air volume of a typical garage, can kill. He confirmed what we

had been told by Japanese suppliers Nichicon and Nippon ChemiCon that the Japanese are

voluntarily making only "safe" aqueous supercapacitors.

His company is about to do the same, making it, on our count, the 79th supercapacitor

manufacturer in the world. Afterwards he told us that he will concentrate on the flat rectangular

"prismatic" construction, prioritising automotive applications.


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Source IDTechEx

10.3. IFEVS Italy

Prof Dr Pietro Perlo, IFEVS and formerly Director of Fiat Research, tells us,

“On February 2012, the commercial state of the art battery cells was at 280Wh/kg (Panasonic used

by Tesla). The theoretical limit of several Li-ion chemistries are well above 1000Wh/kg explaining

why the Japanese and Korean are not pursing Li-iron phosphate whose limit is just above

250Wh/kg thus having little hope to compete in few years, even if they are simpler and sufficient to

cover large scale applications such as e-bikes. Metal air batteries have theoretical limits at several

thousand Wh/kg (see Polylithium).

Commercial Supercaps today are still at 5Wh/kg.. Graphene and CNT are only at research level.

large scale productions are still far away. All commercial solutions with larger than 5Wh/kg energy

density have very reduced cycles. That is, they lose the properties of typical supercaps.

Supercaps have their own application world. For start and stop in ICEs micro hybrids and to open

doors in buses supercaps are ideal. When you distinguish in between high energy batteries and

high power batteries and when you combine the two technologies you avoid the complexity of

supercaps in EVs, full hybrids and plug in hybrids (the real large volumes). Supercaps have a

difficult to manage behaviour. Maxwell has proposed the combination of batteries and supercaps


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for the last 6 - 7 years but the use of high power batteries combined with high energy batteries of

the same chemistry is much simpler while satisfying the needs.”

10.4. Northeastern University USA

Cell phones as thin and flexible as a sheet of paper. Energy-storing house paint. Roll-up touch

screen displays. These are the sorts of devices that the engineering industry is preparing for and

expecting. But if any of them is to work, said Northeastern University mechanical and industrial

engineering professor Yung Joon Jung, experts also need to create a thin and flexible energy-

storage system. His lab has developed such a system.

In a recently published article in the journal Scientific Reports, Jung and colleagues from

Northeastern and Rice University presented their design of a flexible and transparent

supercapacitor, a device that stores energy as an electrical field instead of a chemical reaction, as

batteries do. As such, it is a prime energy-storage candidate for the thin, flexible devices of the

future.

The technology is based on a nanomaterial developed in Jung's lab two years ago, which they call a

nanocup. One of the perceived advantages of nanotubes, Jung explained, is the potential to fill them

with other materials, such as electrolyte in the case of a supercapacitor. The inner capacity of

nanotubes has turned out to be too small to achieve this capability, "but if you have a cup," Jung

said, pointing to his own coffee mug, "you can put anything in it you want."

The first step to making a nanocup is etching nanoscopic divots into an aluminum film through oxi-

dation. By tweaking the voltage and time of this process, researchers can tailor the size of the cups.

The second step is to layer carbon atoms onto the aluminum mold using standard carbon nanotube

technology.

Hyunyoung Jung, the first author on the paper and a postdoctoral researcher in Professor Jung's

lab, has a background in polymer chemistry. He emphasized that the new supercapacitor's novelty

derives from the large surface area and the open textured surface of the nanocups. This mor-

phology allows them to come into greater contact with the electrolyte, which drives the formation

of an electrical field and thus the energy storage functionality.

The supercapacitor, which has not yet been optimized, is able to store energy and provide power at

levels comparable to other devices. The difference, however, is its ability to be incorporated into

thin film devices. "If we give up transparency and mechanical flexibility," Jung said, "we can easily

go to that level of commercially available devices. But my goal is not to lose these two qualities and

simul-taneously develop high-performance energy devices."

The research team has already used a flexible and transparent prototype to power a light. The

group plans to make continued improvements in power generation and energy storage.


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10.5. NYSERDA grants reveal trends of

research

October 15, 2012

NYSERDA Awards $2 Million to Eight NY-BEST Members to Develop Advanced Energy Storage

Technologies

Goal is to Develop Working Prototypes for New Forms of Batteries, Ultracapacitors, Fuel Cells and

Related Components

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) has awarded

$250,000 to each of eight companies and research centers to develop working prototypes for a wide

range of energy-storage technologies. The recipients are all members of the NY Battery and

Energy Storage Technology (NY-BEST) Consortium.

The companies and research centers – located in Albany, Ithaca, New York City, Oneonta,

Schenectady, Troy and Williamsville – will each receive $250,000 provided by NYSERDA, to turn

energy storage technologies with proven technical feasibility into working prototypes. A working

prototype is an essential step along the product commercialization path and increases a company’s

opportunity to attract additional investment.

“Energy innovation plays an important role in driving economic growth and helps advanced

manufacturers remain competitive. These eight recipients will leverage additional private

investment for energy storage solutions developed in New York State,” said Francis J. Murray Jr.,

President and CEO, NYSERDA. “The State’s investment, under Governor Cuomo, in these

companies and research centers will reap rewards for New Yorkers not only today but for the next

generation to come.”

Under the terms of these awards, each recipient must match NYSERDA’s funding, leveraging

NYSERDA’s $2 million with a total of $2.5 million in additional private investment.

This is the first of three rounds of funding to help members of NY-BEST move promising

technologies toward commercialization. NY-BEST is an industry-focused coalition working to

establish New York as a global leader in energy storage technology for heavy-duty transportation,

electric grid and other storage applications.

“NY-BEST is delighted that NYSERDA is awarding $2 million to companies right here in New York

State that are on the cutting edge of developing new innovative energy storage technologies.

Energy storage technology is poised to revolutionize the way energy is used throughout the world

and these companies are playing an important part in that transformation. NYSERDA and Governor

Cuomo have continued to demonstrate their commitment to this rapidly evolving industry and,


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through their efforts, are helping to attract and grow the energy storage industry in New York

State,” said Dr. William Acker, Executive Director of NY-BEST.

The companies and research centers receiving funding include:

Custom Electronics Inc. (Oneonta), which seeks to develop an energy-storage device known as a

graphene electrolytic capacitor to provide extra energy to ride through power sags, swells, or

momentary electric interruptions.

E2TAC (Albany), which seeks to enhance lithium-ion capacitors for improved short-term energy

storage for applications ranging from hybrid vehicles to power electronics. E2TAC (Energy and

Environmental Technology Applications Center) is located at the College of Nanoscale Science and

Engineering (CNSE) of the University at Albany.

GE Energy Storage (Schenectady), which seeks to work with Raymond Corp. of Greene to develop

an electric forklift for use in freezer warehouses using GE’s Durathon batteries. These could

replace conventional lead-acid batteries, which work poorly in cold temperatures.

Graphene Devices Ltd. (Williamsville/Rochester), which seeks to develop graphene-based high

energy ultracapacitors with three times the energy density of current commercial devices at the

same cost. Applications include smart grid devices and the use of energy storage for hybrid

vehicles.

Ioxus Inc. (Oneonta), which will continue development of its advanced ultracapacitors.

Ultracapacitors can assist with numerous applications including transportation by storing energy

generated by braking and discharging that energy back to assist with acceleration and in wind

turbine pitch control.

Paper Battery Co. (Troy), which seeks to develop a production prototype of its thin and flexible

ultracapacitor to provide temporary backup power in computing applications.

Primet Precision Materials Inc. (Ithaca), which seeks to lower the manufacturing cost of key raw

materials for lithium-ion batteries. These could allow more integration of lower-cost energy

storage into the electric grid which could bring lower-cost, reliable electricity to ratepayers.

Urban Electric Power Inc. (New York City), which is seeking to store a megawatt-hour worth of

power in a “flow-assisted” zinc battery that uses an advanced battery management system -

enough to power 40 homes for a day. The stored energy would be used to reduce peak power

demand in the city. The project is being developed in conjunction with the CUNY Energy Institute.

For more information on NY-BEST, visit http://ny-best.org/

http://ny-best.org/


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About NYSERDA

NYSERDA, a public benefit corporation, offers objective information and analysis, innovative

programs, technical expertise, and funding to help New Yorkers increase energy efficiency, save

money, use renewable energy, and reduce their reliance on fossil fuels. NYSERDA professionals

work to protect our environment and create clean-energy jobs. NYSERDA has been developing

partnerships to advance innovative energy solutions in New York since 1975.

10.6. Tecate Group USA

Tecate Group of San Diego markets supercapacitors. National Sales Manager Joe Rana has worked

for manufacturer Maxwell Technologies. In Washington November 2012, at the IDTechEx event

Supercapacitors USA, he told us that he believes that acetonitrile-based supercapacitors will never

reach 3.0 volts without unacceptably short life. He does not believe that the toxicity of acetonitrile

and its combustion gases such as HCN are a problem for small supercapacitors. He has not

encountered any markets where better power density is required over that typically exhibited by

supercapacitors today. He observed that the boycott of acetonitrile in Japan is not complete

between manufacturers because Murata uses it in the process it licenses from Cap-XX.

10.7. Yuri Gogotski

Researcher Yury Gogotsi Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Drexel University in

Philadelphia posits that the supercapacitor has the potential to become a big player in the global

search for reliable green energy. This is particularly true for transportation, based on experience

with the use of supercapacitors in Germany.

MRS Bulletin reports,”Supercapacitors are allowing trams in Mannheim, Germany, to use 30% less

energy than their equivalents in other cities. In a recent 24-hour speed race at Le Mans, Toyota put

their faith in a hybrid TS030 car that used "supercaps" for energy-capture during braking. In China,

supercapacitor technology has been embraced so fervently over just the past four years that tens of

thousands of supercap buses are now on the roads.

So what are supercapacitors and just what do they bring to the power party? Gogotsi explains

supercapacitors as power-storage devices that can supply onboard electrical power in hybrid

vehicles. Whereas batteries store energy in chemical form—in substances that can react to release

electrical energy—capacitors store it by simply piling up electrical charge on two electrodes. The

larger the electrodes and the closer they are, the more energy can be stored.

Unlike batteries, supercapacitors can be charged and discharged in seconds and can withstand

many hundreds of thousands of such charging cycles. This is ideal for energy-saving applications

that capitalize on transient opportunities for recharging, such as energy capture during braking,

and other actions that require power to be delivered in short bursts. They can help with


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acceleration, restart engines that cut out, drive air conditioning, and power automatic windows and

passenger doors. In some aircraft, they are entrusted with powering emergency actuation systems

for doors and evacuation slides.”

Supercapacitor technology is now deployed on Spanish and French trains and hybrid buses all over

the world, on construction equipment such as cranes, and on garbage-collection trucks in the US.

On buses, it can reduce carbon-dioxide emissions by around 30%. The Munich-based heavy-vehicle

manufacturer MAN estimates that their supercapacitor-fitted coaches each save around $4,500 a

year on fuel costs.

The take-up of the technology looks set to expand, as both energy-saving and low-emission

technologies become more necessary and as the technical capabilities of supercapacitors improve.

"There is no single perfect energy-storage solution, no 'one size fits all," said Gogotsi. "A 'battery of

the future' may well be a battery-supercapacitor hybrid which combines the long lifetime, fast

charging, and high power of a supercapacitor with the high energy density of a battery."


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IDTechEx publications and consultancy


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publications and

consultancy Electronic Materials & Devices Reports

Electroactive Polymers and Devices 2013-2018: Forecasts, Technologies, Players

Electroactive Polymers (EAP) can change size or shape when stimulated by an electric field. This

marvellous property can be used in various applications, including actuators & sensors, energy

harvesting, and medical devices. IDTechEx predicts a market volume of $2.5bn by 2018, driven mainly

by the need for smart haptics solutions in touchscreen consumer electronics.

Supercapacitor / Ultracapacitor Strategies and Emerging Applications 2013-2025

By popular request we look closely at supercapacitor applications and technology today and in future

and company strategy in matching the two as they rapidly evolve. We address when new applications

will be identified plus when currently-impracticable applications will become viable. This new report

presents extensive new interviews and searches to reveal the trends and lessons. There is a strong

emphasis on new analysis and roadmaps to 2025 and the direction of 80 manufacturers and potential

manufacturers.

Batteries & Supercapacitors in Consumer Electronics 2013-2023: Forecasts, Opportunities, Innovation

The energy storage market for smart portable devices such as laptops, smartphones, tablet PCs, digital

cameras, wireless sensor networks and RFID, will be valued at $86 billion by 2023. Whilst new battery

technologies promise to satisfy the demands of the changing electronics industry, supercapacitors and

thin film batteries are challenging the current standard battery dominance. This report will guide you

through one of the fastest growing markets in the next 10 years.

Metal Oxide TFT Backplanes for Displays 2013-2018: Analysis, Trends, Forecasts

A range of major drivers are pushing the display industry forward and changing its landscape. These

drivers include product differentiation, size, scale, portability, flexibility, power saving, 3D, transparency,

rimless designs, etc. These trends and drivers are fast changing the needs that backplane technologies

must satisfy. This report examines how emerging metal oxide thin film transistors fit in this emerging

landscape and what their market potential will be.


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New Opportunities for Gold: Conductive Inks for the Electronics Industry 2013-2019

Gold is a precious metal that is used in the electronics industry due to its stability characteristics. In

this report we look at the opportunity for gold-based inks in the printed electronics space, assessing its

potential penetration in applications varying from thin film transistors to emerging photovoltaics, photo-

detectors and other types of sensors.

Most-Needed Chemicals for New Disruptive Electronics and Electrics: De-risk your investment

We identify 37 families of new and rapidly-evolving electronic and electric device, spanning nano to very

large devices. Most chemical and material companies wish to de-risk their investment by finding

common formulations across this new business that has a potential of over $50 billion for them. Indeed,

the biggest markets for new and reinvented electrical and electronic devices may get commoditised

first or collapse suddenly, leaving the materials suppliers high and dry. Read this report to avoid such a

fate.

Analysis of 138 Lithium-based Rechargeable Battery Manufacturers: Chemistry, Strategy, Success

This report concerns lithium-based rechargeable batteries and their alternatives. All serious analysts

predict these will be responsible for the majority of expenditure on rechargeable batteries over the

coming decade. It is therefore important for those making, designing in and using such batteries to

understand the variations emerging and their potential for success or failure. This report clarifies the

situation, revealing the product chemistry, strategy and electric vehicle success of manufacturers and

intending manufacturers.

Graphene Opportunities 2013-2018: Technology, Markets, Players

Graphene, the 'wonder' material, is a hot topic. It promises to offer excellent properties in many

applications, including RFID, smart packaging, supercapacitors and sensors. The reality however is

different and this report diligently separates hype from fact. It analysis different graphene types and

manufacturing techniques. It assesses graphene's value proposition per target market and compares it

with incumbent/rival materials. It provides detailed market forecast and interviews/profiles of key

players.

Dye Sensitized Solar Cells (DSSC/DSC) 2013-2023: Technologies, Markets, Players

Although initial products are aimed towards indoor and portable applications, starting out with chargers

and solar bags with wireless solar keyboards demonstrated more recently, the end game for DSSCs is

the ability to have these largely inexpensive solar cells incorporated into much bigger installations. This

report highlights the main growth markets for DSSCs; adoption trends and barriers to

commercialization in the next decade are comprehensively discussed.

Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting 2013-2023: Forecasts, Technologies, Players

Piezoelectric energy harvesters generate electricity depending on the amount of force used in

compressing or deforming the material, the amount and type of deformation of the material's crystal

structure and the speed or frequency of compressions or vibrations to the material. There are more

than 200 appropriate materials which need careful selection for the particular application..

Electrochemical Double Layer Capacitors: Supercapacitors 2013-2023

This is the only report on supercapacitors and supercabatteries with up to date ten year forecasts and

analysis of market, emerging applications, technology, patent and profit trends and the manufacturers

and researchers involved.

http://www.idtechex.com/research/reports/most-needed-chemicals-for-new-disruptive-electronics-and-electrics-000329.asp

http://www.idtechex.com/research/reports/dye-sensitized-solar-cells-technologies-markets-and-players-2012-2023-000328.asp

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Stretchable Electronics Comes to Market

Stretchable electronics concerns electrical and electronic circuits and combinations of these that are

elastically or inelastically stretchable by more than a few percent while retaining function. For that, they

tend to be laminar and usually thin. No definitions of electronics and electrical sectors are fully

watertight but it is convenient to consider stretchable electronics as a part of printed electronics, a

term taken to include printed and potentially printed (eg thin film) electronics and electrics. This is

because the cost, space and weight reduction sought in most cases is best achieved by printing and

printing-like technologies.

Touch Screen Modules: Technologies, Markets, Forecasts 2012-2022

The touch screen market is expected to triple in the next decade. Along with the current market leader,

projected capacitive touch, industry has a dozen other ways of building a touch screen, but not all of

them are suitable for the rapidly growing consumer electronics market that needs high performance

and high clarity. Every one of the roughly 15 different touch technologies has its own strengths and

weaknesses and is therefore used in very different applications. Hence, there will not be only one

technology in the next decade, but a few that clearly lead the market.

Conductive Ink Markets 2012-2018: Forecasts, Technologies, Players

Conductive inks are a simple and unglamorous layer but they will constitute a hefty $2.86 billion market

in 2012. This market is forecasted to rise to $3.36 billion in 2018, with $735 million captured by new

silver and copper nanostructure inks..

Printed and Flexible Sensors 2012-2022: Forecasts, Players, Opportunities

Printed and flexible sensors offer distinct advantages and potential advantages over non-printed

sensors, such as being lower cost to the point of being disposable, thin, lower and conformal profiled,

flexible, large area, and the exciting possibility of creating devices on a variety of substrates each

shaped and individually tailored to operate uniquely. They are making complex healthcare examinations

faster and cheaper, adding intelligence to packaging, toys, industrial processes and much more. In the

main, they will create new markets, where conventional sensors cannot..

Printed Electronics Reports

Printed, Organic & Flexible Electronics Forecasts, Players & Opportunities 2013-2023

This report provides the most comprehensive view of the topic, giving detailed ten year forecasts by

device type. The market is analyzed by territory, printed vs non-printed, rigid vs flexible, inorganic vs

organic, cost of materials vs process cost and much more, with over 200 tables and figures. Activities

of over 1000 leading companies are given.

Organic Photovoltaics (OPV) 2013-2023: Technologies, Markets, Players

In this report, we develop technology roadmaps or guidelines, which forecast improvements in module

efficiency, lifetime and costs over the next decade. They provide a practical insight into how the

technology is likely to evolve. We also assess the merits of OPV technologies for a diverse range of

market segments, including automotive, advertising posters, apparel, customer electronics, off-grid

applications, power generation, and building integrated photovoltaics..

Printed and Thin Film Transistors (TFT) and Memory 2012-2022: Forecasts, Technologies, Players

Printed electronics will be a $300 billion market within 20 years. The largest segment will be printed

transistors and memory. They will drive lighting, displays, signage, electronic products, medical

disposables, smart packaging, smart labels and much more besides. The chemical, plastics, printing,

electronics and other industries are cooperating to make it happen. Already, over 100 organisations

are developing printed transistors and memory, with first products being sold in 2007.

http://www.idtechex.com/research/reports/electrochemical-double-layer-capacitors-supercapacitors-2013-2023-000318.asp


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OLED vs LED Lighting 2013-2018

The lighting market is a large and yet fragmented space. The fragmentation is driven by technology

and customer need diversity. LEDs were the first SSL technology to appear. They first had success as

LCD backlights, but have since diffused into multiple other segments, including automotive. OLED

lighting in now emerging but faces many challenges, particularly since it shares many target markets

with LEDs. This report analyses issues such as product differentiation, cost reduction, technological

improvement pathways, etc

Transparent Conductive Films (TCF) 2012-2022: Forecasts, Technologies, Players

This report focuses on the requirements and achievements to date on the topic of flexible transparent

conductors, where high transparency and high conductivity are required. Worldwide research and

design efforts are presented, both from research institutes and companies that are developing the

necessary materials and processes. Several technical solutions available are compared, and forecasts

are given for the next 10 years.

Carbon Nanotubes (CNT) for Electronics & Electrics 2013-2023: Forecasts, Applications, Technologies

IDTechEx market forecasts indicate that carbon nanotube transistors and other electronics

applications may be commercially available in volume from 2016 onwards. The biggest opportunity is

in printed and potentially printed electronics, where the value of these devices that partly incorporate

these materials will reach over $63 billion in 2022.

E-Paper / Bistable Displays 2012-2022: Markets, Forecasts, Technologies

A variety of e-paper display technologies have been developed which enable completely new products

or the introduction of electronic functionality in products where it was previously unavailable. This new

report from IDTechEx assesses the full range of non-emissive, bistable display technologies, such as

electrophoretic, electrochromic, electrowetting, cholesteric LCDs and others. A detailed appraisal of

the markets are given with forecasts by application type to 2020.

Printed Electronics for Healthcare, Cosmetics and Pharmaceuticals 2012-2022

Printed electronics for healthcare and beauty encompasses stretchable, flexible, conformal and

sometimes biodegradable electronics and electrics. It is very thin and lightweight, even in hybrid

constructions that, for now, incorporate conventional integrated circuits (IC), light emitting diodes

(LED) and other chips in a partly printed device in order to perform functions not yet possible with

entirely printed surfaces.

Smart Packaging Comes To Market: Brand Enhancement with Electronics 2013-2023

This report reveals the global demand for electronic smart packaging devices is currently at a tipping

point and will grow rapidly to $1.7 billion in 2023. The electronic packaging (e-packaging) market will

remain primarily in consumer packaged goods CPG reaching 35 billion units that have electronic

functionality in 2023.

Displays and Lighting: OLED, e-paper, electroluminescent and beyond

A revolution is in the making. Electronics will never be the same as new applications are spawned.

Invisible, origami, edible electronics, low cost materials and manufacturing will lead to the use of

electronics in spaces traditionally bare of their functionality. The research and growth of new

technologies, along with new materials and processing methods, is resulting in the increasing

penetration of innovative electronics and the emergence of new products in the competitive fields of

displays and lighting. Eye-catching, animated billboards; large-area, thin, flexible displays with

amazing colour contrasts; windows that are converted into surface lighting elements at night.


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Inorganic and Composite Printed Electronics 2012-2022: Needs, Opportunities, Forecasts

The future $300 billion market for printed electronics is emerging via thin film electronics. The

contribution of organic materials to this is greatly publicised and it has attracted over one thousand

participants already. However, the best devices being developed usually rely on inorganic or combined

inorganic/organic technology that is little publicised. With over 115 tables and figures, it critically

compares the options, the trends and the emerging applications and is the first in the world to

comprehensively cover this exciting growth area. The emphasis is on technology basics,

commercialisation and the key players.

Introduction to Printed, Organic and Flexible Electronics

Your essential report on printed electronics markets, technologies and companies. Printed electronics

is a term that encompasses thin film transistor circuits (TFTCs), displays, interconnects, power,

sensors and even actuators. Thousands of companies have now entered this market. The printing

companies today will be the new electronic giants tomorrow. This report is vital reading to understand

the opportunity of the technology, players, needs and timelines, giving global coverage from the

biggest printing companies in the Far East to paper and packaging companies in Scandinavia to

applications of the technology in the Americas.

Thin Film Photovoltaics 2012-2022: Forecasts, Technologies, Analysis

This comprehensive new report gives a thorough analysis of the subject by the well-known consultant

and academic Dr Bruce Kahn and Dr Harry Zervos with backing from the IDTechEx team of technical

specialists. It covers the science and the manufacturing technology extremely thoroughly yet in an

understandable form. 57 companies are profiled and forecasts are to 2018 are given, with projects for

ten years after that to 2028.

Barrier Films for Flexible Electronics 2013-2023

This highly targeted report from IDTechEx gives an in-depth review of the issues relating to high

barrier films for flexible electronics, as well as forecasts for display, lighting and photovoltaic

technologies, in order to understand the influence that the development of barriers will have on the

mass deployment and adoption of flexible electronics and photovoltaics.

Electric Vehicle Reports

Electric Vehicles by Application

MASTER REPORT

Hybrid and Electric Vehicles for Land, Water and Air 2013-2023: Forecasts, Technologies, Players

This report is based on ten years of researching the subject, intensive desk research, visits and

interviews. There are chapters on Heavy Industrial, Light Industrial and Commercial, Mobility for the

Disabled, Two Wheelers, Golf Cars, Cars, Military, Marine and Other vehicles. That even extends to

electric mobile robots, surveillance jellyfish and other Autonomous Underwater Vehicles AUVs, bats

and electric aircraft. Detailed forecasts for these vehicle categories by numbers and value and the key

components are provided for the next ten years. The trends, technology and planned vehicles are

clarified in numerous figures and tables including the historical context. Winning and losing strategies

are evaluated. Timelines are given of events to come.

F

MASTER REPORT

Electric Vehicle Industry Profitability 2012 – Where, Why, What Next

This report spells out the "Rules of the Marketplace" and sets them against the activities of many

organisations active in the electric vehicle value chain to explain how to create success. It analyses the

finances and positioning of many suppliers of EVs and their components, covering hybrid and pure

electric vehicles for land, water and air, because they have increasing commonality in commercial

terms. For example, they share the same parts and have the same lessons of success and failure.


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Electric Motors for Electric Vehicles 2013-2023: Forecasts, Technologies, Players

Today, the motors that propel electric vehicles on land, through water and in the air are mainly

brushless. Most of the number and the value of those brushless traction motors lies in permanent

magnet synchronous ones. No matter: they both have excellent performance including simple

provision of reverse and regenerative braking. However, that dominance is about to change. The main

reason is not those well publicised but elusive in-wheel motors coming in at two to six per vehicle but

simply the move to much larger vehicles and therefore motors. Power Electronics for Electric Vehicles 2013-2023: Forecasts, Technologies, Players

This report provides a market forecast for traction inverters for electric vehicles over the next decade,

together with a supplier and technology review. With a large range of applications and rapidly

increasing market, there is significant opportunity for a large number of players. However, traction

inverter technology is rapidly evolving, aided by new materials and innovations that provide step

changes in performance necessary to meet future demands.

Electric Boats, Small Submarines and Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV) 2013-2023: Forecasts,

Players, Opportunities

Those making electric vehicles or their components seek to expand their business. To do this, they

need to look beyond the oversupplied on-road sector. Marine electric vehicles are interesting as a

market that is more profitable and often more open to innovation. However, until now, there has been

no report assessing this substantial market sector. No longer. In 2011, IDTechEx has just completed a

report "Marine Electric Vehicles 2012-2022". It is the world's first comprehensive report on marine

electric vehicles with latest ten year forecasts and important new projects such as submarines that

will fly.

Electric Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) 2013-2023

Thousands of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles UAVs will be deployed in the next few years for both civil and

military missions. Early adoption of new technologies from smart skin to structural components and

intelligent motors with integral gearing will be employed. Near-silent operation and virtually no noise

or gaseous emissions are both major benefits. There is now so much happening in UAVs alone that

this report has been prepared to focus on UAVs alone. No other report is as up-to-date and insightful

about this subject.

Manned Electric Aircraft 2013-2023: Trends, Projects, Forecasts

Hybrid and pure electric manned aircraft offer improved safety, lower cost of ownership and green

credentials. Consequently the number of organisations designing them and the variety of types is now

increasing rapidly. This report analyses and forecasts the whole market. It investigates how almost

every component and structure is about to change and benchmarks against relevant best practice even

when it is first occurring in land and water EVs.

Hybrid and Electric Vehicles for Military, Police & Security 2012-2022: Forecasts, Opportunities,

Players

This brand new IDTechEx report concerns electric vehicles for military, security and police duty. Even

excluding regular cars minimally modified for such use and the huge development contracts, the

IDTechEx projections show a strongly rising market that becomes around 15% of the total electric

vehicle market in 2021, primarily due to the high prices attracted by the specialist construction

involved. Although the bulk of this demand will be for military vehicles on land, the water and air borne

applications will each become businesses of well over one billion dollars yearly within the decade. The

report emphasizes the need to benchmark best practice between each of these modes and gives a

large number of examples.

Hybrid and Electric Buses and Taxis 2012-2022: Forecasts, Opportunities, Players

The electrification of commercial on-road transport is now being progressed strongly by both paybacks

and mandates of local and national governments across the world. Even where paybacks are

underwhelming, the green agendas of the participants is driving things forward but there are

impediments too, including up-front cost and the poor range and reliability of some versions and the

practicality and cost of infrastructure. This report gives numbers and value for hybrid and for pure

electric buses and taxis, market drivers and overall transport statistics to put this in context. The most

active countries are identified and projections specifically for China are given. Large numbers of

suppliers are identifies and some interesting ones are profiled. Drive trains and batteries are

examined.


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Light Electric Vehicles 2012-2022: Forecasts, Players, Opportunities

Written by the world's leading expert on LEVs, with the longest track record, this LEV report looks

closely at global trends in their technology, manufacture and market drivers such as legislation.

IDTechEx has added forecasts and other material. This 206 page report encompasses over 70 brands,

gives forecasts of sales numbers, unit prices and total market value for 2012-2022. 13 market drivers

are balanced against many negative factors that are discussed in the report, which has 69 figures and

tables and detail on standards and legislation.

Industrial and Commercial Hybrid and Electric Vehicles 2012-2022: Forecasts, Opportunities, Players

This report covers the technical and market trends for industrial and commercial vehicles whether

hybrid or pure electric, putting it in the context of electric vehicles overall and including the activities of

a host of manufacturers of the vehicles and their components and even providing future technological

development roadmaps.

Hybrid And Pure Electric Cars 2012-2022

Electric vehicles just became exciting. For 111 years, electric cars that rely only on a battery - "pure

EVs" - have had a range of only 30-50 miles and the humble golf car has been the only type selling in

hundreds of thousands every year. However, huge changes have been announced in recent years.

Electric vehicles will penetrate the market rapidly to constitute 35% of the cars made in 2025 - 25%

hybrids, 10% pure EV. Any motor manufacturer without a compelling line up of electric vehicles is

signing its death warrant.

Electric Vehicle Technologies

Inverters for Electric Vehicles 2013-2023

This report provides a market forecast for traction inverters for electric vehicles over the next decade,

together with a supplier and technology review. With a large range of applications and rapidly increasing

market, there is significant opportunity for a large number of players. However, traction inverter

technology is rapidly evolving, aided by new materials and innovations that provide step changes in

performance necessary to meet future demands.

Range Extenders for Electric Vehicles Land, Water & Air 2012-2022

About eight million hybrid cars will be made in 2021, each with a range extender, the additional power

source that distinguishes them from pure electric cars. Add to that significant money spent on the same

devices in buses, military vehicles, boats and so on and a major new market emerges. This unique

report is about range extenders for all these purposes - their evolving technology and market size.

Traction Batteries for Electric Vehicles Land, Water & Air 2012-2022

This comprehensive report has detailed assessments and forecasts for all the sectors using and likely to

use traction batteries. There are chapters on heavy industrial, light industrial/commercial, mobility for

the disabled, two wheel and allied, pure electric cars, hybrid cars, golf cars, military, marine and other.

The profusion of pictures, diagrams and tables pulls the subject together to give an independent view of

the future ten years. Unit sales, unit prices and total market value are forecast for each sector for 2012-

2022. The replacement market is quantified and ten year technology trends by sector are in there too,

with a view on winning and losing technologies and companies.

Hybrid and Electric Car Traction Batteries - The New Gold Rush 2012-2022

This report is intended for industrialists, investors, market researchers, legislators and others

interested in the large new market now being created for batteries that propel hybrid and pure electric

cars along the road. It will also inform those studying associated technology and industrial and

government initiatives and legislation. The report is suitable for the non technical reader, with

introductory appendices and glossary for those new to the subject. However, there are many comparison

graphs, tables and sections concerning technical aspects, so those with appropriate technical training

will find much to interest them as well.


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Advanced Energy Storage Technologies: Patent Trends and Company Positioning

IDTechEx and PatAnalyse have collaborated to produce the world's first computer analysis of the

previously impenetrable patent thicket surrounding Advanced Energy Storage. A particular focus is

electric vehicle technology such as traction batteries in general, lithium-ion traction batteries,

supercapacitors/ ultracapacitors, battery management systems and charging. However, there is

thorough coverage of lithium batteries and supercapacitors in general for those more widely interested

in these topics. The results are startling. Our measurements reveal that one giant landing the biggest

orders rarely has its huge portfolio of patents cited, a warning on IP quality.

Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure 2012-2022: Forecasts, Technologies, Players

This report covers the full picture of how electric vehicles by land, water and air will be externally

charged. They are hugely increasing in number - we give the forecasts by type - and most will have a

plug in feature to save money and the planet. Charger market value will increase more than fivefold over

the decade but car charging grows much faster and other vehicle charging peaks, for reasons we

explain. In this new report with its comprehensive scope, we examine slow, fast and fastest charging

stations, including contactless charging and battery swapping with blunt appraisals.

Energy Harvesting/Regeneration for Electric Vehicles Land, Water & Air 2012-2022: Technologies,

Players, Forecasts

This report gives a wealth of examples of energy harvesting in action on electric vehicles by land, water

and air. It summarises trends in diagrams, tables and text to make it easy to compare essential

information. Forecasts for adoption in 2011 and 2021 are backed by ten year forecasts for electric vehicle

sales by type, 2012-2022 by category - number, unit value and market value. A critical explanation of all

the technologies is given with the good and bad aspects and assessment of likely future progress. The

work of a large number of suppliers and adopters is assessed.

Electric Vehicle Geographical

Hybrid and Electric Vehicles in East Asia 2012-2022: Forecasts, Players, Opportunities

56% of the value of sales of electric vehicles is and will remain in East Asia and cars only account for

about half of the value of the electric vehicle business worldwide. It is therefore important to look at the

big picture and, in particular, the latest ten year forecasts for EV activity in East Asia. Uniquely this

report provides that information. Entirely researched in 2010 and regularly updated, the report draws

many valuable conclusions

Energy Harvesting and Energy Storage Reports

Energy Harvesting and Storage for Electronic Devices 2012-2022: Forecasts, Technologies, Players

Energy harvesting is otherwise known as power harvesting or energy scavenging. It is the use of

ambient energy to power small electronic or electrical devices. That means solar cells on satellites,

heat powered sensors buried in engines, vibration harvesting for helicopter electronics and the wind- up

radio or lantern. However, there are also several more esoteric options.

Analysis of Energy Harvesting

Energy harvesting is the use of ambient energy to provide electricity for small and or mobile equipment,

whether electrical or electronic. It is concerned with providing relatively maintenance free, long life

equipment, reducing the need for batteries. As is typical in relatively new technologies, there is much

hype about energy harvesting and it is tough to find which countries, technologies and suppliers see

success and why. This report answers those questions using hard facts.

Thermoelectric Energy Harvesting 2012-2022: Devices, Applications, Opportunities

This report gives an overview of devices, materials and manufacturing processes, with a specific focus

on emerging technologies that allow for new functionality, form factor and application in various

demanding environments. Whether it is operation in high temperatures or corrosive environments,

applications with increased safety demands or components that need to be thin, flexible, or even

stretchable, there is a lot of research and development work worldwide which is highlighted.


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RFID and Smart Label Reports

RFID Forecasts, Players and Opportunities 2012-2022

This report is the summation of extensive research over twelve years including interviews with RFID

adopters and solution providers in the various applicational RFID markets, giving an unprecedented

level of insight into the total RFID industry and what is really happening. Purchasers receive an

electronic PDF and (optional) printed copy of this report, a separate functional spreadsheet of the

forecasts, and access to report updates throughout the year. Ten year forecasts are given split in many

ways, with more than 190 tables and figures.

Active RFID and Sensor Networks 2012-2022

Active RFID is little reported but its use is growing rapidly. Already several applications have been above

$100 million and there is more to come. Learn how to use it and how to sell it. Ten year forecasts from

2012-2022 show how Active RFID will develop in the years ahead.

Printed and Chipless RFID Forecasts, Technologies & Players 2012-2022

This report analyzes the prospects of the end game of RFID - ultra low cost tags that do not include a

silicon chip. We assess the technologies that are available and emerging, players, challenges, the

opportunity and give ten year forecasts.

RFID Progress, Opportunities and Forecasts in Russia, CIS and Baltic States 2012-2022

This report analyses RFID supply and use in Russia and 15 surrounding countries. These countries have

total population comparable to that of Russia but little more than one third of Russia's Gross Domestic

product GDP in total and RFID use and potential in total. They are the Baltic States, CIS and, because of

its RFID potential, Bulgaria ie Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Bulgaria, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan,

Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine.

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) 2012-2022: Forecasts, Technologies, Players

Wireless Sensor Networks WSN - self organising, self healing networks of small "nodes" - have huge

potential across industrial, military and other many other sectors. While appreciable sales have now

been established, major progress depends on standards and achieving twenty year life.

NFC-Enabled Phones and Contactless Smart Cards 2010-2020

This report compares and contrasts Near Field Communication (NFC), and particularly RFID enabled

mobile phones, with contactless smart cards and tickets. The emphasis is on how they are forms of

RFID with advantages and disadvantages and different development paths. We come to the surprising

conclusion that there will continue to be rapid growth in sales of all three alternatives for at least ten

years. This follows 800 million Chinese acquiring contactless national ID cards in four years and over 70

million Japanese adopting RFID enabled, NFC compatible phones in three years. These were two of the

fastest rollouts of electronic products in human history.

Real Time Locating Systems (RTLS) 2012-2022: Forecasts, Players, Opportunities

This unique report covers the technology and market for what will be a multi-billion dollar market by

2013. It includes active RFID devices based on WiFi, etc, and over 60 case studies. There are also

detailed forecasts.

http://www.idtechex.com/research/reports/rfid-forecasts-players-and-opportunities-2012-2022-000322.asp


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RFID Profit, Fund Raising and Acquisition Strategy

There is a great need for profit optimization and careful product positioning and repositioning in the

frenetic but unforgiving RFID market that is increasing ten times to become a $26 billion business in

2016. RFID is entering most sectors of corporate, public and private life so understanding how to create

enduring profit from such a choice of designs and applications, software, hardware and services, calls

for great care and modern management tools.

Application Specific Reports

Apparel RFID 2012-2022

Apparel RFID is the first big retail RFID success. This report is unique in analysing the use of RFID in

the apparel value chain from tagging cloth in manufacture to retail fashion and rented apparel. 138

users and suppliers are profiled. From Chile to Canada and Sweden to Taiwan, there is something to

learn from all of them, not just from the unusually broad approach in Germany, Italy, China, Japan and

the USA. This industry is on the move in a manner unmatched almost anywhere else in the RFID

market.

RFID for Animals, Food and Farming 2011-2021: Forecasts, Technologies, Players

This report concerns RFID in the food supply chain, from arable farming and livestock to presentation

in the retail store. We even cover some benefits if the RFID tag stays on the food to the private home.

Because the tagging of pets and use of RFID on animals and in conservation are closely allied topics,

we cover these as well. Consumers also demand more information, as do the police and customs.

This report analyses the use of RFID and allied technologies, with a profusion of case studies from

across the world.

IDTechEx Subscription Services

RFID Case Studies Knowledgebase – the largest in the world

Over 4,200 case studies, over 4,800 organisations, 109 countries and growing rapidly. The variety of

case studies in this Knowledgebase is a salutary reminder that, although the supply chain is seen as

ultimately the biggest application for RFID, the less hyped applications such as Libraries & Archiving,

Passenger & Personal Transportation, and Healthcare, are moving ahead extremely rapidly. This is a

searchable electronic database, with many links and slide presentations, by far the largest available.

http://www.idtechex.com/products/en/view.asp?productcategoryid=3


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Introduction to IDTechEx Consultancy

IDTechEx provides independent consulting, research and analysis services on printed/organic

electronics, RFID, smart labels and smart packaging. We uniquely offer global insight into these

topics and provide both technical and commercial advice from experienced industry experts. We

help companies throughout the value chain from inventors and venture capitalists to value added

suppliers, system integrators, major users and facilities managers.

Our services include:

Evaluating and assessing the market potential and position of new products

Market analysis by application type

Technology forecasting and benchmarking

Company benchmarking, profiling and SWOT analysis

Needs by industry and new opportunities

Company training and brainstorming masterclasses

Business due diligence for acquisitions and investments

Assistance with fundraising

Our technical graduates are particularly well informed about the technologies and appropriate

enabling technologies and unusually rapid in response to customer's requirements and work hard

to "see the future". IDTechEx sponsor relevant academic and not-for-profit organisations to

support the industry and this also enables us to provide our clients with the latest knowledge which

they may not have access to. For example, we are sponsors of EPCglobal, SAL-C (Smart Active

Labels Consortium), Ubiquitous Computing (Japan) and active members of EuroTag. IDTechEx is

also a member of AIM, IEE and the Institute of Packaging. This support does not, however, conflict

with our strict independence.

Our publications, conferences and consultancy services are global in reach. Our staff includes

native foreign speakers for example and we regularly visit companies and conferences across the

whole world and our conferences are in the US, Europe, Middle East and Asia. We have provided

consultancy services in Europe, the USA, Japan and Korea.

Our clients include:

Hewlett-Packard, USA

Schiphol International Airport (Amsterdam)

Whirlpool Europe, Italy

ADT Security Services, Inc. / Tyco Fire & Security

Shell Limited

Manchester Airport, UK

PolyTechnos, Germany


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Plastic Logic, UK

Guinness UDV, UK

Cazenove Private Equity, UK

Power Paper, Israel

Magnadata, UK

Amadeus Capital Partners, UK

Rexam, USA Esprit, UK

Our confidential clients include:

Several of the world's largest chemical companies, USA

A global leader in EAS and smart labels, USA

Three of the world's largest companies in packaging and printing, USA/Europe

Several of the most famous Japanese electronics companies

IDTechEx Services

We have a high level of technical skill, with most staff being at degree standard, many PhDs, and

several being globally acknowledged experts in their field. However, we do not design products or

systems or sell them on your behalf. We assess them, conceive new product ideas, conduct market

research, help with business plans, offer tutorials, help raise funding, find licensees for inventions,

advise on sales strategy, investments, acquisitions, profit improvement and so on. We update our

publications very frequently. For example, our web journal Smart Labels Analyst is monthly and,

where our reports cover fast-moving topics, we update them every three months.

Recent work includes:

Assessing and forecasting organic photovoltaics commercialisation for a major Japanese

chemical company

Assessing new printed conductor technologies for a major materials company

Assisting in presentations and fundraising for an active RFID company

Teach-ins and brainstorming of strategy at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, Shell oil company, a

major food manufacturer, clothing retailers and a microchip manufacturer

Internal training courses in both RFID and smart packaging in the US and UK for a major

packaging company

Assessing optimal technologies and materials for ultra low-cost smart labels of various types

and business plans for such products for various companies

Assistance with strategy of a security printer

Business due diligence of a planned acquisition for a US multinational and similar work for two

venture capitalists planning certain investments.

Recent work includes business due diligence for PolyTechnos of Munich, Germany for

investment in Plastic Logic, UK.

Evaluating and assessing the market potential and position of new products and technologies in

development

Helping startups in France, UK, USA, Sweden and New Zealand

Strategic advice for a major Australian power company


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Case Studies - Printed Electronics

Case Study 1:

A $40 billion company who was looking to participate in the printed electronics market and

leverage their expertise as a global materials company. It needed to understand how it could get

involved in this sector based on unmet needs, companies to potentially partner with or even acquire,

and company progress, particularly in East Asia.

IDTechEx profiled over 150 companies around the world, in particular those in East Asia. Full

patent searches, company SWOT reports and analysis was given. Recommendations of partners

and unmet needs (i.e. opportunities for the client) were given.

The client invested in one of our recommended companies and grew effort on topic accordingly.

The client later has attended IDTechEx events for ongoing market updates.

Case Study 2:

A $60 billion company sought impartial assessment of their technology and applications they could

address over different time scales.

IDTechEx analyzed their technologies versus others in the industry to identify what still needed to

be done. IDTechEx then looked at all the relevant applications, their technology needs and

timelines, and recommended first products.

The client grew their R&D activities to focus on unmet needs we identified. The client gave

IDTechEx a second follow on study and has attended many IDTechEx events and bought our

research publications for ongoing updates.

Case Study 3:

A German Venture Capital wanted us to provide due diligence prior to their investment in a UK

based plastic electronics startup.

IDTechEx provided due diligence on the company and their opportunities in light of the competitive

landscape and applicational demands.

The VC company invested in the company on our recommendation. The target company has gone

on to raise significant funds in later rounds and become a globally recognized leader in its field.

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