Dr.

AMBEDKAR INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

(An Autonomous Institution, Affiliated to Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belagavi)

Supercapacitor: Electrical Characteristic,

Application and Future Trends

Submitted by

VARUN KUMAR G 1DA17EC147

BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING

IN

ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING

Dr. AMBEDKAR INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

Near Jnana Bharathi Campus, Mallathahalli, Bangaluru-560056

2019-2020
 ABSTRACT
Energy storage systems are playing an increasingly important role in a variety of applications, such as electric vehicles
or grid-connected systems. In this context, supercapacitors (SCs) are gaining ground due to their high-power density,
good performance, and long maintenance-free lifetime. For this reason, SCs are a hot research topic, and several
papers are being published on material engineering, performance characterization, modelling and post-mortem
analysis. A compilation of the most important millstones on this topic is essential to keep researchers on related _elds
updated about new potentials of this technology. This review paper covers recent research aspects and applications of
SCs, highlighting the relationship between material properties and electrical characteristics. It begins with an
explanation of the energy storage mechanisms and materials used by SCs. Based on these materials, the SCs are
classified, their key features are summarized, and their electrochemical characteristics are related to electrical
performance. Given the high interest in system modelling and many papers published on this topic, modelling
techniques are classified, explained, and compared, addressing their strengths and weaknesses, and the experimental
techniques used to measure the modelled properties are described. Finally, SCs are successfully used in the market
sectors, as well as their growth expectations are analysed. The analysis presented herein gives the account of the
expansion that the SC market is currently undergoing and identifies the most promising research trends on this field.

LITERURE REVIEW

DISCOVERY of the electrochemical double layer capacitor (EDLC or supercapacitor) was done by General Electric
engineers in 1957 while performing experiments with devices based on porous carbon electrodes. Then it was realized that
energy is stored within the carbon pores. Though they did not make much effort towards its development, Standard Oil of
Ohio made their own discovery accidentally while working on fuel cells in 1961. They designed it using activated charcoal
as the electrode material in which the electrodes were separated by a thin insulator. This serves as the basis for the design
of supercapacitors to date. Standard Oil did not commercialize their invention rather the technology was sold to NEC which
then commercialized it in 1978. Market analysis made by Lux Research showed that the supercapacitor market is expected
to rise from $208 million in 2009 to $877 million by 2014 with a 27% compound annual growth. The forecast stated further
that application in cell phones and digital camera will make up $550 million while large scale applications will make $320
million. Another research by Nano Markets revealed that its application in smart grid will approach $1.1 billion by year
201. Thus, to boost the supercapacitor production to meet up with its future demand, several R & Ds on various materials
that will enhance its performance and lower its cost are in progress. Moreover, the technology of the ultra-battery expected
to be released within the next few years that integrate the lead acid battery and supercapacitor technology necessities in R
and D field.

TECHNICAL DETAILS
In a conventional capacitor, energy is stored by moving charge carriers, typically electrons, from one metal plate to
another. This charge separation creates a potential between the two plates, which can be harnessed in an external
circuit. The total energy stored in this fashion increases with both the amount of charge stored and the potential
between the plates. The amount of charge stored per unit voltage is essentially a function of the size, the distance and
the material properties of the plates and the material in between the plates (the dielectric), while the potential between
the plates is limited by the breakdown field strength of the dielectric. The dielectric controls the capacitor's voltage.
Optimizing the material leads to higher energy density for a given size.

EDLCs do not have a conventional dielectric. Instead of two plates separated by an intervening insulator, these
capacitors use virtual plates made of two layers of the same substrate. Their electrochemical properties, the so-called
"electrical double layer", result in the effective separation of charge despite the vanishingly thin (on the order of
nanometers) physical separation of the layers. The lack of need for a bulky layer of dielectric and the porosity of the
material used permits the packing of plates with much larger surface area into a given volume, resulting in high
capacitances in small packages. In an electrical double layer, each layer is quite conductive, but the physics at the
interface between them means that no significant current can flow between the layers. The double layer can withstand
only a low voltage, which means that higher voltages are achieved by matched series-connected individual.
Each EDLC cell consists of two electrodes, a separator, and an electrolyte. The two electrodes are often electrically
connected to their terminals via a metallic collector foil. The electrodes are usually made from activated carbon since
this material is electrically conductive and has a very large surface area to increase the capacitance. The electrodes
are separated by an ion permeable membrane (separator) used as an insulator to prevent short circuits between the
electrodes. This composite is rolled or folded into a cylindrical or rectangular shape and can be stacked in an
aluminium can or a rectangular housing.
Double-layer capacitors – These ones with activated carbon electrodes or derivates with much higher electrostatic
double-layer capacitance than electrochemical pseudo capacitance.
Pseudo capacitors – These are capacitors with transition metal oxide or conducting polymer electrodes with a high
amount of electrochemical pseudo capacitance.
Hybrid capacitors – These are capacitors with asymmetric electrodes one of which exhibits electrostatic and the
other mostly electrochemical capacitance, such as lithium-ion capacitors. They are environmentally safe. The various
materials that can be used for supercapacitors are activated carbon, activated charcoal, activated carbon fibers, carbon
nanotubes, carbon aerogel, carbide-derived carbon, graphene, conductive polymers, metal oxides, etc.

ADVANTAGES

1. High energy storage.

2. Wide working temperature (-400 C to 600 C).
3. Eco-friendly.
4. Quick charging time.
5. Maximum life cycle.
6. High cycle efficiency (95%).
7. High specific power up to 17 kW/kg.
8. Extremely low internal resistance.
 9. Safe.

DISADVATAGES
1. Low energy density; usually holds 1/5 — 1/10 of a battery.
2. Cannot use the full energy spectrum for some applications.
3. The voltage varies with the energy stored.
4. Have high self-discharge rate.
5. Individual cells have low voltages, and so serial connections are needed to obtain higher voltages.
6. Requires expert electronic control.
7. Cannot be used in AC and high frequency circuits.
8. High cost.

APPLICATION

1. In startup mechanism for Automobiles.

2. Used in Diesel engine start up in submarines & tanks.
3. China is experimenting with a new form of electric bus that runs without powerlines but runs on power stored in
large supercapacitors, which are quickly recharged whenever the electric bus stops at any bus stop and get fully
charged in the terminus. A few prototypes were being tested in Shanghai in earlY2005. In 2006two commercial
bus routes began to use supercapacitor buses in Shanghai.
4. Backup power system in missiles.
5. Power source for laptops, flash in cameras.
6. Voltage stabilizer.

FUTURE SCOPE
As always, talk about supercapacitor technology is not without discussing plans. We are getting very close to standalone
supercapacitor batteries. Researchers at the University of Central Florida successfully created a prototype supercapacitor
battery that takes up a fraction of the space of lithium-ion cells, charges more quickly, and can recharge 30,000 times while
still working like new. Other innovations set to change the capacitor business include designing ECs with graphene to create
lightweight supercapacitors with energy-storage capabilities between 150 F/g and 550 F/g, at a fraction of the price of
current EC designs. Still, it’s a concept still being explored.

The most promising future of supercapacitors is the combination of a double-layer charging interface with existing energy-
storage technologies. By adding EC technology to fuel-cell applications, companies have been successful in rapidly
improving the charge/discharge cycle performance of hybrid- and electric-vehicle applications. Many cities using hybrid
technologies for public transit have also seen an improvement in overall energy storage and charge cycles when coupling
their energy systems with things like supercapacitor-based engine starters and charging stations.
The scope is very bright. In electronic system, wearable electronics, as also medical implants, supercapacitors are
coming up with solutions which could not be thought of earlier. Medical implants like pacemakers, knee implants and
others will be powered by them, and they will harvest energy from body heat and movements. This will obviate any
replacement over lifetime.

Robots, UAV will find use of supercapacitors due to quick charging capacity. IoT will find many uses for them.

In power for vehicles, already buses, trams and trains have started running on ultracapacitors. Trains are also making
use of Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems (KERS) and saving huge amount of energy. As energy density increases,
cars may also start being powered by them. Presently many functions are being increasingly taken over by
supercapacitors in vehicles, helping increase battery life also in the process.

REFERENCES

1. IEEE Paper: “Supercapacitors: Electrical Characteristics, Modeling, Applications, and Future Trends”
https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8694780

2. Wikipedia, “Electric double layer capacitor”, http://en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Electric_double-layer_capacitor

3. B.E Conway, Electrochemical Supercapacitors: Scientific Fundamentals and Technological Applications, Kluwer
academic/ Plenum publishers, 1999, pp17-556.

4. J. Garthwaite,” Supercapacitor Market to Surge to $877M by 2014”, http://earth2tech.com

/2009/06/10/supercapacitormarket-
5. to-surge-to-877m-by-2014/.

6. Nano Markets, “Market for Battery and Supercapacitor Storage Systems for Smart Grid Applications Expect to
Reach $8.3 Billion in 2016”, http://www.azonano.com/news.asp?newsID=12902.

7. V. Martynyuk1, D. Makaryshkin1, J. Boyko, “Frequency Domain Analysis for Electrochemical supercapacitors”,

Khmelnytskiy

8. National University, 2008, pp1-2, http://www.imeko.org/ publications/t c4-2007/IMEKO-TC4-2007-008.pdf.

9. T.J. Guther, R. Oesten, J. Garche,” Development of Supercapacitor Materials Based on Perovskites” in

F.M.Delnick, D. Ingersoll, X. Andriieu, K. Naoi, Proceedings of the Symposium on Electrochemical Capacitors
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