Ultracapacitors

Electrical energy storage is required in many applications — telecommunication devices,such as cell phones and pagers, stand-by power systems, and electric hybrid vehicles. The specifications for the various energy storage devices are given in terms of energy stored (Who) .and maximum power as well as size and weight, initial cost and life. A storage device to be suitable for a particular application must meet all the requirements. As power requirements for many applications become more demanding, the battery was found wanting. It is often reasonable to consider separating the energy and power requirements by providing for the peak power by using a pulse power device battery. For applications in which significant energy is needed in pulse form, traditional capacitors as used in electronic circuits cannot store enough energy in the volume and weight available. For these applications, the development of high energy density capacitors gained importance and which eventually lead to the development of Ultracapacitors. Ultracapacitors are basically capacitors having capacitance in the order of kilofarads and can store much larger energy as compared to ordinary capacitors, but lesser than batteries.