Super-capacitors have begun widespread integration into the transportation sector. This technology is available in China for charging electric buses, it is utilized in London, United Kingdom for new double-decker buses, and is expected to be become a large part of the bus market in the United States of America. The benefits over batteries include rapid charging, increased cycle life, and lower maintanence. Batteries, however, to still hold inherent benefits of energy density and electrical storage duration. Dual battery-capacitor systems could help revolutionize automobiles, charging infrastructure, and electrical grid usage.
From the article:
A fluke breakthrough could be the missing link for an electric car age
Most see the first use for this technology not within cars, but as a key part of the charging infrastructure. “Roughly half of the population doesn’t live in a place where they can charge overnight at home,” says Tim Martin, director of Zapinamo, which is developing flexible electric charging stations. Those people need access to rapid charging facilities instead, but Martin says the national grid would struggle to supply electricity at the speeds required.
Large storage units full of supercapacitors could start popping up at service stations, to act as a buffer between electric cars and the grid. They could charge slowly, outside of peak times when electricity is cheaper, and then deliver that energy to multiple vehicles rapidly when required. “Stored energy is the only way that you can combine instantaneous power with the speed of charging that makes range anxiety go away,” says Martin.
The same approach could also be a game-changer for renewable energy. Because solar and wind are unpredictable, the electricity they generate needs to be stored so it can be released during lulls. “When everyone puts on the kettle after dinner, that sudden spike in demand has to come from somewhere,” says Cooper. At the moment, that is done mostly by pumping water uphill and running it back through turbines when energy is needed, but supercapacitors offer much more flexibility because they can respond so quickly.
“Wind, wave and solar energy is available but it is intermittent and, without storage, cannot be relied upon to meet our energy needs,” says Highgate. “This new work would transform the energy system which underpins our way of life – it is the necessary development before we and our children can have a genuinely sustainable, environmentally safe energy supply.”
http://www.wired.co.uk/article/superdielectrics-supercapacitor-electric-car-battery
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