Allotrope Energy has developed a new class of supercapacitor, which it says could halve the cost and double the performance of hybrid powertrains.
The supercapacitors have twice the energy density of existing supercapacitors, enabled through the use of Lignavolt, a sustainably produced, nano-porous material with a large surface area.
Supercapacitors can charge and discharge much faster than batteries, allowing them to capture much more energy through regenerative braking, and provide more power.
Dr Peter Wilson, founder of Allotrope Energy, said: “Harvesting 100% of the energy available during even moderate braking would require a lithium-ion battery so large that it would be both impractical and cost-prohibitive.
“The ability to deal with sudden surges of power safely is still beyond most battery technologies, and so they limit themselves to effectively skimming off the top.
“By contrast, a Lignavolt-based supercapacitor could recover all of that energy instantly using a pack the size of a shoebox weighing only a few kilos.”
Allotrope claim that a 1kg Lignavolt supercapacitor could provide 75BHP of power, around 50-times what a similarly sized lithium-ion battery produces.
Lignavolt-based supercapacitors have an energy density of around 14Wh/kg, compared to a typical supercapacitor, which has an energy density of around 7Wh/kg.
Equipping the average internal combustion engine (ICE) powered SUV with a 4kg supercapacitor would double its power output.
Wilson said: “That allows much more of a powertrain’s acceleration to come from the electric motor, which in turn can then be matched to a smaller, lighter combustion engine, introducing even further fuel and emissions savings.”
So far, supercapacitors have only been utilised in two hybrid production cars, the multi-million-pound Lamborghini Sián FKP 37 and Lamborghini Countach LPI 800-4.
Supercapacitors also require less complex thermal management, and are more sustainable than traditional batteries, as they have longer lifespans, and require no rare earth metals, as Lignavolt is refined from a co-product of the pulp industry.
