The Supercapattery  

Green Car Congress reports that the University of Nottingham (also noted for its research into fun bags) are developing - also known as "supercapatteries".

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.

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.

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.