Nanostructured Materials for the Construction of Asymmetrical Supercapacitors

Our paper on nanostructured materials and mechanical issues involved in the construction of asymmetric supercapacitors has just been accepted. A great news for the new year. Below is the email we received from the editor.

Ragone plot indicating the positions occupied by various power devices

TITLE: Nanostructured Materials for Construction of Asymmetrical Supercapacitors

AUTHOR(S): Jung H Chae, MSc; Kok C Ng, PhD; George Zheng Chen, PhD

I am pleased to tell you that your work has now been accepted for publication in Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part A, Journal of Power and Energy.

Your article will be passed to our Production Department and will be edited and typeset in the usual style and format of the journal. You will be sent proofs for checking in due course.

Thank you for submitting your work to this journal.

Yours sincerely,

Helen Elmes

Assistant Managing EditorProceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part A, Journal of Power and Energy

Virtual Journal of Nanoscale Science & Technology (Vol. 20 Issue 11) on the 10 V Bipolar Supercapacitor

Received this email today on the selection of the article of mine to be published in the September 14, 2009 issue of Virtual Journal of Nanoscale Science & Technology (Vol. 20 Issue 11). Here's the link to the site.

We are pleased to inform you that your article, "Individual and Bipolarly Stacked Asymmetrical Aqueous Supercapacitors of CNTs/SnO[sub 2] and CNTs/MnO[sub 2] Nanocomposites," published in Journal of The Electrochemical Society 156, A846 (2009), has been selected for the September 14, 2009 issue of Virtual Journal of Nanoscale Science & Technology. The Virtual Journal, which is published by the American Institute of Physics and the American Physical Society in cooperation with numerous other societies and publishers, is an edited compilation of links to articles from participating publishers, covering a focused area of frontier research. You can access the Virtual Journal at http://www.vjnano.org -- thank you for your contribution.

This notice is sent only to the corresponding author of the article, so you may want to inform your coauthors of the selection of your article for the Virtual Journal.

You can receive e-mail notices of Virtual Journal of Nanoscale Science & Technology tables of contents by registering at http://www.virtualjournals.org/vjs/notification.jsp; RSS feeds are also available (see http://www.virtualjournals.org/vjs/rss ).

Sincerely,

David Awschalom, Editor

The TEM image of the CNTs/SnO2 reported

Individual and Bipolarly Stacked Asymmetrical Aqueous Supercapacitors of CNTs/SnO2 and CNTs/MnO2 Nanocomposites (10 V Bipolar Supercapacitor)

CVs of the 10 V supercapacitor stack of nine asymmetrical cells

connected by bipolar electrodes and porous separators

• The 10 V bipolarly stacked supercapacitor was built with plates of the size of a 50p coin cell at the University of Nottingham, UK.
• Each individual cell consists of asymmetrical supercapacitor built with carbon nanotubes based nanocomposites.
• Aqueous asymmetrical supercapacitor constructed with the two different nanocomposites is capable of giving a mass specific capacitance of 202.40 F/g as a constant current of 0.04 A. The maximum specific power found is one of the highest reported so far, i.e. 143.7 kW/kg besides demonstrating a relatively high specific energy of 20.3 Wh/kg with an operating voltage of 1.7 V in KCl aqueous electrolyte.

CVs of one asymmetric supercapacitor in 2.0 M KCl operating at 1.7 V

• Nine cells were stacked in series although 6-7 stacked cells would have been able to do the trick of achieving an operating voltage of 10 V. Nine cells were used due to safety operating reasons of the cell.
• The stacked cell was capable of achieving 0.2 F where the contribution of each individual pair of asymmetrical cell is about 1 F.

The prototype bipolarly stacked supercapacitor in series encapsulated in epoxy resin

For details of the performance and the related information with regards to the 10 V Bipolarly Stacked Supercapacitor prototype click on this link.

The 0.2 F cell built with aluminium plates of the size of 50p which can be operated to 10 V

The abstract of the paper:
Asymmetrical supercapacitors with aqueous electrolytes were fabricated from carbon nanotubes (CNTs) individually coated with SnO₂ (CNTs/SnO₂) and MnO₂ (CNTs/MnO₂) as the negative and positive electrodes, respectively. The CNTs/SnO₂ nanocomposite is used as the negative electrode material in an asymmetrical supercapacitor. The physicochemical properties of the CNTs/SnO₂ and CNTs/MnO₂ nanocomposites were examined by X-ray diffraction, scanning and transmission electron microscopy, cyclic voltammetry, and galvanostatic charge–discharge. Individually, the supercapacitors were tested for charge and discharge to a cell voltage of 1.70 V in 2.0 M KCl without noticeable water decomposition. The asymmetrical cell could reach the specific energy of 20.3 Wh/kg, which is comparable to that obtained from electric double-layer supercapacitors using organic electrolytes (17–18 Wh/kg). The maximum specific power of the cell, 143.7 kW/kg, is perhaps the highest among all reported aqueous asymmetrical supercapacitors. It also shows an exceptional stability of over 1000 cycles, with the capacity loss being less than 8%. A 10 V stack was also constructed with nine individual supercapacitors connected through bipolar electrodes of the nanocomposites and porous separators containing 1.0 M Na₂SO₄. The stack exhibited remarkable capacitive behavior resulting from the individual cells.

Editorially related:

An Asymmetrical Supercapacitor Based on CNTs/SnO2 and CNTs/MnO2 Nanocomposites Working at 1.7 V in Aqueous Electrolyte
Kok Chiang Ng et al.
Meet. Abstr. - Electrochem. Soc. 802, 521 (2008)

An Asymmetrical Supercapacitor Based on CNTs/SnO2 and CNTs/MnO2 Nanocomposites Working at 1.7 V in Aqueous Electrolyte
Kok Chiang Ng et al.
ECS Trans. 16, 153 (2008)

Internal Leakage Current in Supercapacitors

Internal leakage current in supercapacitors can be determined using a simple method, i.e. by monitoring the change in the open-circuit voltage over time for a fully charged supercapacitor. Dynamic leakage current can be determined from the curve recorded from the open-circuit test. Usually electrochemical machine with high input impedance is required for such test so that the circuits utilised to study the self-discharge mechanism do not influence the recorded values. Leakage current varies with voltage, so it would be useful to be able to calculate the value at various time interval during the self-discharge period. The performance and quality of the supercapacitor built depends predominantly on the ability to store charge over a long period of time. Leakage current usually caused by short circuit between plates or electrodes (especially in bipolarly-stacked supercapacitors) would quickly diminish the capability of the supercapacitor in fulfilling its function.

A lab prototype supercapacitor

An email about Electric Car

I was pleasantly surprised about a month ago when I received an email from K. Hoo about electric car in Malaysia. Firstly, I have to apologise for the late reply. I was certainly very impressed with Hoo's enthusiasm in electric car and it is certainly rare to find someone like him in Malaysia. Hoo has mentioned to me about his personal project on electric car and also his written mail to our Transport Minister with regards to Road Transport Act which currently restricts electric cars from being on Malaysian roads, i.e. vehicles allowed on the road require an engine to be fitted in them. This is interesting as I have ridden in a lead-acid battery powered car at the Nottingham Trent University before and was told by the professor from Loughborough University (who lead the research team) that they have road tax/license to drive the car on the road in the UK, but I can't recall the classification/category which it falls under. Nonetheless, I am humbled by Mr. Hoo with his effort in bringing up the matter with the Ministry of Transport in Malaysia.

I have also recently been brought to attention about the development of supercapacitors which may be able to complement/ maybe one day replace batteries being carried out at MIT. The electrodes of the supercapacitors are made of chemical vapour deposition grown carbon nanotubes and are able to store enough charge to power the engine of a car. Nonetheless, supercapacitors have also been fitted in the emergency doors for Airbus, indicating the relability of the technology. I personally am involved in a research which examines the viability of the application of supercapacitors in large-scale energy storage.

K. Hoo has recently emailed me with further details of his project which has certainly intrigued me further to have a closer look at his project. I do feel very privilege to be given this chance to have a good peek into his prized research. We lacked people like Hoo in Malaysia. If only we have more local scientists who dare to experiment and with a committed support from the government in terms of monetary needs etc. we would have been so much more advanced by now. For the approval of the government with regards to electric cars, I believe the first attempt would be to collaborate with local universities or research institutes. This would ensure the government's seal of approval to work on the project. Besides that, there might also be some opportunity of funding from the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovations, which would in turn support the preliminary testings/test drive of the electric vehicle at closed circuits with available safety precautions.

In all, I would want to take this opportunity to thank K. Hoo for his emails and his discussions on the acts which restrict electric cars from being able to be driven on our Malaysian roads. I believe that we lacked innovative people like Mr. Hoo and I will always look forward to future emails from him or anyone with regards to supercapacitors, renewable energy, and green powered vehicles. We have a responsibility towards the future generation, that is to reduce carbon footprints on earth while we still can before it is too late.

Electric Car in Malaysia

Fancy driving a Toyota Prius? Look no further, Proton is developing electric cars with Detroit Electric Car Company. Made in Malaysia but marketed in Europe? What about being marketed in Malaysia? Anyway, here's the link for more information. How it affects me? Supercapacitor!
More news:
1. CNET UK news: Detroit Electric: Recharge for 21st century
2. Detroit resurrected
3. The Business Insider: Detroit selling electric cars
4. AFP: Proton and Dutch company for Electric Cars
5. Autocar.co.uk: Proton's plug-in cars


Interesting times.

ISEE'Cap09

First International Symposium on Enhanced Electrochemical Capacitors
To be held at the Université de Nantes from the 29th of June to the 2nd of July

Here's a short description of the symposium which can be found at the website:
Electrochemical capacitors, also called supercapacitors, are electricity storage devices subject to increasing research efforts due to their potential technological impact in a wide variety of applications, from portable electronics to stationary power sources or electrical/hybrid vehicles. The enhancement of energy and power densities, cycle life and safety in use remain strongly related to the choice of electrode materials, electrode/electrolyte interactions as well as electrochemical storage mechanisms in various complex systems.
A few meetings offer the opportunity to gather most renowned experts in the related fields together with non-specialist engineers and researchers who would like to know more about these storage devices identified as major electrochemical systems for the near future. ISEE'Cap09 is a unique opportunity for researchers to give and access an overview of the most recent recent results on electrochemical capacitors, covering a wide range of scientific and technological aspects intimately related to each other for the achievement of enhanced storage devices.

Brief Discussion of the Impact of Material and Supercapacitor Research in Malaysia

An email I received from Meisam from USM:

I would like to introduce myself, Meisam Valizadeh Kiamahalleh, as one of postgraduate student in Universiti Sains Malaysia(USM, Penang). Actually my research filed is supercapacitor materials based on CNTs and transition metal oxides nanocomposites. I am going to submit my research proposal but I don’t know how to write the section of Impact toward society and country due to not to be familiar with Malaysia too much.

According to be Malaysian having a lot of experiences in the same field of supercapacitor, would you please guide me how to write this section of my proposal?

I would be very grateful if you can help me in this case. Nice to know you.

Kindest Regards

Meisam Valizadeh Kiamahalleh

Dear Meisam,

It's a nice surprise to be receiving your email. Certainly, I can give an idea or two about the impact of the research on Malaysian society and technological development, however, I must say that having been overseas for the past 8 years, Malaysia has progressed in many different ways (during my absence) in the advancement of her science and technology fields with various research funding being poured extensively by MOSTI and the Higher Education Ministry.

However, with the introduction and further advancement in material studies especially in the field of supercapacitor, a device which bridges the critical energy and power gap between battery/fuel cell and the conventional capacitor, issues which are of global concerns such as the climate change, green house effect and the scarce sources of fossil fuels can be addressed more effectively. Although this may not be the main concern of a developing country like Malaysia, this would certainly help raise awareness of the society towards environmental issues of such and the need to develop workable solutions.

Nonetheless, advancement in material technology would bring the development of supercapacitors into a new era especially with the investigations of nanomaterials which have attracted much attention of late due to their unique properties and in particular, in terms of supercapacitor where the surface utilisation and accessibility of the materials by the electrolytes for redox reactions to take place are the most important features in their storage mechanisms. This would put Malaysia on the right track in the government's objectives to develop world class research centres at our local universities. New understanding of the material especially those which are reported locally would improve the credibility of local research hence enable investigations to be done locally without having to rely on overseas partners. This would also stop the flow of local funds overseas.

Malaysia is a unique country where much of our research have been lagging behind most developed countries in the world even though we may have one of the best research facilities in our universities. This has been identified as one of the crucial challenges, i.e. to bring able knowledge into the country besides being able to produce Malaysian researches who would be able to come up with innovative if not original/novel research. Supercapacitor being one of the most recent fields which has grabbed much attention among the research community, especially in the area of power sources, electrochemical devices, renewable energy, and electrical/power engineering would certainly be an interesting field to be tapped by local universities in Malaysia. This may be an area worth focusing on in terms of being able to transform the local research into an leading one in the world (especially given that Universiti Sains Malaysia has just recently attained it's Apex University title).

Nonetheless, there is also a comprehensive report which has been compiled by the US department of energy on the state-of-the-art supercapacitors as in the Miller and Butler paper which was presented at the 12th International Seminar on supercapacitors. The priority research directions were clearly identified and if were to be used as guidelines would certainly lead to major improvements in this technology. Thus, this technology has very promising future in Malaysia given that the foundation has been carefully laid out by many researchers since the first patent was filed by Becker.

There would be other impacts on the country and society which I would like to discuss further, but I believe what I have written above would give you a good outline and basis on what to work on in your proposal.

Cheers,
KC

p.s. I hope you wouldn't mind me posting this on my webpage.

ECS Transactions Publication 2008

Dear Mr. Ng,

We are happy to inform you that your manuscript, "An Asymmetrical Supercapacitor Based on CNTs/SnO2 and CNTs/MnO2 Nanocomposites Working at 1.7 V in Aqueous Electrolyte", has been published in "ECS Transactions", Volume 16.

Authors: Kok Chiang Ng, Shengwen Zhang, and George Z. Chen
Publication: ECS Transactions
Volume: 16
Issue: 1
Issue Title: Electrochemical Capacitors and Hybrid Power Sources 2008
Page Range: 153 - 162
Publisher: The Electrochemical Society
Year Published: 2008

The Electrochemical Society is pleased that issues 1 through 14 of "ECS Transactions" Volume 16 are now online. Having ECST content available electronically is an enormous asset for our members and also an excellent research tool for the scientific community. Now that authors may submit their manuscripts directly, valuable content from our meetings will no longer go unpublished. Even better, this material will never go out of print. In making all manuscripts available individually, we are able to offer an easier way to obtain the material relating to a specific discipline. All of these factors will combine to give "ECS Transactions" a greater reach in disseminating the important research being performed in the fields of electrochemistry, solid-state science, and allied subjects.

Please visit the ECS Digital Library (http://ecsdl.org/ECST/) for further details about full issues and individual manuscripts.

Best regards,
John Lewis, Associate Director of Conference Publications
ECS - The Electrochemical Society
65 South Main Street, Pennington, NJ 08534-2839
Tel:1.609.737.1902, ext. 120 Fax: 1.609.737.2743

Carbon Nanotube Supercapacitors May Replace Clunky Car Batteries

by Kit Eaton

Carbon nanotubes are one of the surprising new carbon supermaterials, and it looks like their application in supercapacitors may have a role in replacing clunky old car battery tech.
Read more...

CAP-XX CEO, Nanotech Northern Europe and Spinverse

I have just been invited to attend the Nanotech Northern Europe where Cap-XX CEO will be presenting. This has come as surprised to me when I opened my email inbox today. At first glance, I thought it was just like any other spam email where you are told that you have won the lottery or something. The email this came from Michelle Moody from Moody & Associates who is the PR for Cap-XX Ltd. Anyway, I did a search and found that Cap-XX CEO is indeed presenting at the conference. Here's the content of the email I received. They have my full name written though and the title of research I am involved in. I think PR companies are now extending their search and publicity via internet, since internet can reached out and extend the spread of news to a wider space and audience. This is certainly an interesting development and anyone who receive such invitation would be certainly flattered.

Dear Mr. Kok Chiang Ng,

I see that you are involved in the Nanotechnology Applications in Supercapacitors Research at the School of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, so I thought you might be interested in Mr. Kongats’ presentation next week at the Nanotech conference in Copenhagen, Denmark.

He will share lessons learned while developing CAP-XX’s nano-structured supercapacitors from government laboratory to today’s deployment in space-constrained electronics devices worldwide. Below is a media advisory issued today about his presentation.

Best regards,

Michelle

Moody & Associates

PR for CAP-XX Ltd.

+1.214.363.3460

michellemoody@charter.net

CAP-XX CEO to Present at Nanotech Northern Europe

Sydney, Australia – September 17, 2008 – Next week, at Nanotech Northern Europe in Copenhagen, Anthony Kongats, CEO for Australia-based CAP-XX Ltd. (LSE:CPX) will share lessons learned while developing his company’s nano-structured supercapacitors from government laboratory to today’s deployment in space-constrained electronics devices worldwide.

WHO:

Anthony Kongats founded CAP-XX in 1997 to commercialize the supercapacitor technology spawned by joint research done at the Australian government’s premier science and research organization – CSIRO – and Kongats’ own electronics company, Energy Storage Systems.

WHAT:

Kongats will share his commercialization challenges and his perspective on the global investment environment for nanotechnology. CAP-XX is the only publicly-listed nanotechnology company being profiled.

CAP-XX chose the Alternative Investment Markets (AIM) in London which had supported similar internationally-focused technology companies and other nanotechnology start-ups such as Oxonica.

Kongats will discuss start-up challenges such as attracting venture funding, readying a technology for production, building a patent portfolio, selling a new concept into a new market, preparing for a public offering and ramping manufacturing capacity to meet demand.

WHERE:

Nanotech Northern Europe, Europe’s annual nanotechnology conference organized by Spinverse, Copenhagen, Denmark, September 23 – 25: http://www.nanotech.net/content/conference

WHEN:

Thursday, September 25 at 11:30 am, Kongats will present during the “Analyst Perspectives” section of “Investing in nanotechnology,” a full-day session on the business and investment potential of nanotechnology.

About CAP-XX:

The CAP-XX nano-structured carbon supercapacitors store energy in tiny cells, then release large bursts of power when needed. For example, mobile phones use supercapacitors to deliver brighter flashes and richer-sounding music, vibration energy-harvesters use them to power data transmission bursts in battery-free condition monitoring systems, and solid state disks (SSDs) rely on them for backup power.

CAP-XX has sold more than 3 million supercapacitors, enabling smaller, thinner, longer-running and more feature-rich space-constrained electronic devices such as camera phones, SSDs, PDAs, wireless sensors and medical devices. Examples include rugged PDAs and Point-of-Sale systems from Banksys, Handheld Products, Intermec, Datalogic and Symbol Technologies, and wireless condition-monitoring systems supporting energy-harvesters.

Sydney, Australia-based CAP-XX is publicly-traded on AIM and has sales offices in the UK and USA. For more information, visit http://www.cap-xx.com or email sales@cap-xx.com.

About Spinverse:

Spinverse commercializes emerging technologies by combining scientific, industrial and investment expertise. Spinverse organizes international technology events, provides capital and technology transfer services and coordinates national programs in nanotechnology, fuel cells and mobile communications. www.spinverse.com.

Quote from a former Energy Related Company Director

A former director AXPW said:

A PhD working in a well-equipped laboratory can always generate test results that are vastly superior to the best results one can expect from a factory staffed by high school graduates; which is why R&D companies rarely survive the transition from research to manufacturing.

UltraBattery from Australia

Australia has been actively involved in supercapacitor research of late with leading companies such as Cap-xx and the Australian government supported lab, CSIRO working together to further innovate the supercapacitor technology. Much has been read about the hybrid cars which paraded the world last year and early this year, a creation put together by these two companies besides the supercapacitor supported flash digital camera which has been widely advertised in the recent two years. The most updated creation is the 'UltraBattery' which is a hybrid energy storage device that integrates a supercapacitor with a lead acid battery in one unit cell. It has been tested on Hybrid vehicle and found to have excellent performance. The next project would be to be able to scale up the unit to be able to be used in capturing energy from alternative sources of energy such as wind power which now suffers a problem in storing the intermittent generation of electricity due to the nature of the blowing wind. Australia is a place with plenty of alternative energy wealth such as the sun and the wind, thus, with advancement in supercapacitor and energy storage technology, Australia may just be one of the leading nations in harvesting alternative power generation.

Joint International Conference, Hawaii

A 1.70 V supercapacitor in aqueous is to be reported at the 214th Annual Meeting of the Electrochemical Society in mid October 2008. I will be giving the oral presentation about this exciting finding from the carbon nanotube composites research at Nottingham.

To read more, please check out the submitted abstract at the organiser's webpage:

List and Summary of all Abstracts Received to Date

KC's abstract

Ng KC, Zhang SW, Chen GZ, An asymmetrical supercapacitor based on CNTs/SnO₂ and CNTs/MnO₂ nanocomposites working at 1.7 V in aqueous electrolyte
Abstract # 521, Symposium B2 - Electrochemical Capacitors and Hybrid Power Sources, 214^th ECS Annual Meeting (PRiME 2008), Hawaii, October 15, 2008.

Press Release on our Work at Nottingham - Supercapattery

University of Nottingham Developing New Large-Scale Energy Storage Device Combining Properties of Supercapacitors and Batteries

21 June 2008

Researchers at the University of Nottingham (UK), supported by €1.4m (US$2.2 million) from E.ON, one of Europe’s leading power and gas companies, are developing new energy storage systems for use with renewable energy generation including a device that combines the properties of supercapacitors and batteries (“supercapattery”) and undersea compressed air storage bags.

The effective and efficient storage of energy produced from renewable sources such as wind, solar, wave and tidal power is a challenge facing the energy industry. As these types of renewables only produce energy under certain conditions, storage capacity will help ensure supply can be matched to demand.

Supercapattery storage system. Dr. George Chen in the University’s School of Chemical and Environmental Engineering and Dr. Christian Klumpner in the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering are developing a new electrical energy storage system consisting of supercapatteries and power electronics. The core materials are chemically modified carbon nanotubes, and the power electronics ensure that the current flow is integrated in a stable and high-quality manner.

Electricity generated from renewable sources can be transported instantly through cables over long distances but storage is a problem—if you don’t use it, you lose it. Our aim is to develop something which will bring together the best of both worlds—the high electrical energy storage capacity of a battery and the fast charge/discharge rates of a supercapacitor.

—George Chen

The supercapatteries, which are constructed from carbon nanotubes chemically engineered with traditional battery materials, can be designed with different specifications depending on the user need, according to Chen. Two papers he and his colleagues recently published describe the use of manganese oxide-coated carbon nanotubes and conducting polymer-coated carbon nanotubes.

The specific capacitance (Farads per gram) of the manganese oxide-carbon nanotubes composite is normal (140~150 F/g), but the electrode specific capacitance (Farads per square centimeter) is very high. The value reported, 4~5 Farads per square centimetre, is actually the world record amongst all published results. The charge/discharge chemistry of this composite is mainly that of manganese oxide with some contribution from carbon nanotubes.

—George Chen

On its own a supercapattery would be ideal for powering a portable electrical device, but the researchers are investigating the potential of using stacks of supercapatteries which would offer energy storage on a large scale for a grid stabilization application.

Currently about five per cent of the power of the national grid is standing by in reserve (often thermal) in case of a power surge—for example when everyone puts their kettle on after the football match has finished. To have generators on standby costs a great deal of money, whereas these devices could be called into action at very short notice and provide extra power within a very short timeframe.

—George Chen

Undersea airbags. Professor Seamus Garvey in the University’s School of Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Engineering is looking at using a combination of wind, wave, tidal and solar power to compress and pump air into underwater bags anchored to the seabed. During periods of high demand, the air would be released through a turbine, converting it to electricity.

ICARES (Integrated Compressed Air Renewable Energy Systems) could help support the development of vast offshore energy farms off the coastline around the UK.

*source: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/public-affairs/press-releases/

Piezoelectric, Foot Power and Supercapacitor

Energy can be harvested from footsteps at busy places such as the tube stations in London. This can be done through the pushing of fluid in micro-turbines which in turn generate power to be stored in supercapacitors. A recent study shows that the footsteps of the commuters at one of the tube station in London can actually power up to 6,500 light bulb a day. Also there other types of materials in place of fluid in micro-turbine which can generate electricity in the presence of mechanical stress. Such material is said to exhibit piezoelectricity. The footsteps which generate small energy through piezoelectric material can be stored in electrochemical capacitor in similar concept as above.

First Wireless Sensor Network Utilising Supercapacitor

Supercapacitor is able to provide the required peak power for data transmission in wireless Sensor Network. Batteries have reliability issues and thus, with the introduction supercapacitor in the microgenerator, there would be no maintenance problems related to the system but instead improvement to the energy use and also cost saving. This was made possible with the collaboration between Perpetuum (Southampton, UK) and CAP-XX Limited (Sydney, Australia). Supercapacitor is finding its place in the market more and more these days with the increasing demands for power solution and with the drawbacks with existing battery technologies. As the world looks for more environmental friendly solution, supercapacitor certainly fits the criteria towards saving the earth for the future generation.
*Image courtesy of www.dei.unipd.it/~schenato/