Angstron Materials Inc., has invented a graphene-based supercapacitor with ultra high energy density, a feature that permits storage of a significant amount of energy. As a rechargeable energy storage device, supercapacitors can be charged and discharged more quickly than batteries but have been challenged by their inability to store energy in the amounts required by automotive and electronic applications.
Angstron’s graphene-based supercapacitor has demonstrated an energy density that exceeds that of commercially available supercapacitors and is comparable with nickel metal hydride batteries.
“A supercapacitor that can store this much energy yet be completely charged or discharged in seconds or minutes offers a number of promising applications for the automotive and electronics industries,” said Dr. Bor Jang, co-founder of Angstron. “This type of supercapacitor is especially attractive for electric vehicle applications where the pairing of supercapacitors with fuel cells or batteries could provide a hybrid system capable of delivering high power acceleration and energy recovery during braking.”
The world’s largest producer of nano graphene platelets (NGPs), Angstron’s single layer graphene has exhibited the highest electrical properties including exceptional in-plane electrical conductivity (up to ~ 20,000 S/cm) when compared to other nanomaterials including carbon nano-tubes (CNTs) and carbon nano-fibers (CNFs). Graphene also offers a very high specific surface area - up to 2675 square meters per gram. By creating curved graphene sheets that resist restacking, Angstron was able to dramatically improve specific surface area and energy density for greater energy storage.