AABC Europe 2013 - ECCAP Symposium: Large EC Capacitor Technology and Application - Session 2

New EC Capacitor Products and Business Development

ECCAP Session 2 reviewed new capacitor products and EC business development activity. Leaders from key companies discussed products and business development strategies as their expanded product offerings support growth of energy-efficient industrial, utility, and transportation-related energy storage systems.

Session Chairman:

Dr. Miller is President of JME, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in ultracapacitor development, testing, and application. John is a well-known expert in ultracapacitor technology with 25 years of experience in the industry. In the past five years, prior to joining the AABC team, he has chaired the Advanced Capacitor World Summit.

1. Electrochemical Flow Capacitor: A New Concept for Grid Scale Energy Storage
   Prof. Yury Gogotsi, Director, A.J. Drexel Nanotechnology Institute, Drexel University
   Abstract 

   

   Grid-level energy storage has emerged as one of the key technological challenges impeding the full integration of renewable energy technologies and grid resiliency.  Due to the inherent instabilities of the grid, 100s of billions of dollars are lost annually across the globe because of power outages. Thus, grid energy storage offers the opportunity to dampen these effects and strengthen electricity markets on a whole.

   Our team at Drexel University has developed a new technology for grid energy storage called the electrochemical flow capacitor (EFC). The EFC concept benefits from the advantages of both supercapacitors and flow batteries in that it is capable of rapid charging/discharging, has a long cycle lifetime, and enables energy storage and power to be decoupled and optimized for the desired application. This presentation introduces the EFC concept, and highlights:

   1. The key differences from alternative electrical energy storage systems
      1. A flowable carbon-electrolyte electrode (slurry) for capacitive energy storage
      2. Higher power compared to flow batteries
      3. Scalable system achitecture
       
   2. The fundamental working principles of the EFC
      1. Electrostatic charge storage
      2. Conductive particle-to-particle network
      3. Rheological performance of capacitive slurry
       
   3. The current EFC research activities
      1. Movement toward increased energy density via redox-active additives to the flowable electrode (pseudocapacitance)
      2. Flow studies examining conductivity changes with flow rate
       
   4. Overall System Performance

   This presentation concludes by describing our team’s progress toward a mid-level demonstration prototype of the EFC and an overview of future directions for the EFC.

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2. Extended Product Portfolio for Market Specific Needs
   Simona Vrabiescu, Product Marketing Specialist, Maxwell Technologies
   Abstract 

   

   Battery powered systems are widely used and so popular that any attempts to change habits require great efforts.

   However, car manufacturers and their suppliers are challenged by the increasing need  for energy and power resulting from the integration of the latest technological advances in comfort and performance along with the increasing demands of new standards and regulations.

   The mobility and power industry segments are increasingly integrating Maxwell’s Ultracapacitors taking advantage of their unique characteristics.

   Ultracapacitors offer more freedom in designing power systems and perform at high technical standards.

   Maxwell designs the ultracapacitors by addressing the specific market needs with significant consideration for robustness in construction, reliability in extreme conditions and by integrating monitoring and balancing features into the modules we provide.

   Our latest products successfully extend Maxwell’s product portfolio.

   With a strong market appeal due to their exceptional features for hundreds of thousands of engine starts and for back-up power, our modules are evaluated by various interested customers.

   The rapid ROI and the low total cost of ownership prove that our products are the ideal solution for challenging power and energy applications.

   The paper and presentation will give the overview of our latest product developments for various applications and demonstrate that Maxwell’s Ultracapacitors are the new standard of power delivery and energy-use optimization and a success factor for sustainable business.

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3. Critical Material Issues in EDLCs
   Dr. Shrisudersan “Sudha” Jayaraman, Senior Research Scientist, Corning Incorporated
   Abstract 

   

   Corning is a materials company that solves complex technological problems to both meet present market needs and anticipate future market needs. We exploit our multi-disciplinary core capabilities to find materials solutions to complex problems with the potential to solve problems of a megatrend scale. Examples include automobile pollution control in the 70s, communications bandwidth in the 80s, and more recently scratch and break resistance touch displays. In this presentation, the critical issues in the development of EDLCs with improved performance (high energy, high power, long life, etc.) are outlined and solutions involving advances in materials and processing of carbon, electrode, electrolyte and packaging are presented. We will conclude our talk by showing data from high energy density ultracapacitor cells fabricated on Corning’s development line. As part of Corning’s participation in ESTRELIA, cells using Corning’s innovative materials and technology were delivered to our consortium partners for pack integration and further evaluation.

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4. Kuraray Activated Carbon for Electric Double Layer Capacitor (EDLC or Super capacitor)
   Kiyoto Otsuka, Director of Research and Development, Kuraray Chemical Company
   Abstract 

   

   Activated carbons have many internal and surface pores.  By controlling the diameter of the pores and the pore volumes, the electric performance of activated carbon can be enhanced.  A unique, gas-activated technology has been developed which makes it possible to control the diameter and the volume of the activated carbon pores.  The resulting activated carbons are characterized by their high chemical stability, uniform quality, and high level of homogeneity.  They can be tailored for application as electrodes for electric double layer capacitors (EDLC).

   The technology of the activated carbon is explained through the history.

   KURARAY CHEMICAL has 30 years history in development of the EDLC activated carbon.

   • The history of the activated carbon for EDLC was started from the electrode of Activated Carbon Fiber Cloth (CH).
   • And the powder activated carbon of resin (RP) and the powder activated carbon of coconut shell (YP) were developed.
   • The activated carbon by KOH activation was also developed (NK,NY).

   EDLC has high reliability. In order to keep this reliability, 30 years of our history and experience are very important.

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5. Carbon's Call for Change: A Market Perspective from a Critical Component of the Supply Chain
   Jenalle Brewer, Marketing Manager - Specialty Products, Calgon Carbon Corporation
   Abstract 

   

   As a leader in the activated carbon industry and a pioneer in creating innovative activated carbon solutions, Calgon Carbon will discuss the ultracapacitor market from the perspective of a supplier of one of the most important components of the device - activated carbon.  High quality, yet cost effective activated carbon is critical to greater market adoption of the ultracapacitor technology.  This presentation will examine the challenges and opportunities of the ultracapacitor market as follows:

   • An Introduction to Activated Carbon
     • Material characteristics
     • Importance of quality
      
   • An Overview of the Market
     • State of the market
     • Barriers to growth
      
   • Challenges of the Market
     • Need for “cheap”
     • Independent testing
     • Lack of industry collaboration
      
   • A Call for Change
     • Supply chain efficiency
     • Recommendations for success
      

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6. Improved ECCap Carbons
   Rudyard Istvan, Chief Executive Officer, NanoCarbon, LLC
   Abstract 

   

   Since Pekala invented carbon aerogels in 1993, researchers have been seeking ECCap carbons with improved energy density, power density, and cost. There has been no practical advance since KOH activation because of an incorrect scientific understanding about where the double layer forms. NanoCarbons LLC has developed and experimentally validated the ‘correct’ understanding. These insights lead directly to significantly enhanced price/performance materials that increase energy density by up to 1.5x, improve power density by up to 2x (1/2 RC), while significantly reducing ECCap cost.

   This presentation covers the science and its large commercial impact:

   • True nature of sieving micropores
     -Ubiquity means only ‘outside’ surface matters
   • Keys to enhanced energy density
     -Particle size, shape, and rugosity
   • Key to enhanced power density
     -Electrode void morphology
   • Keys to lower product cost
     -Carbon price/performance
   • Commercial Status

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7. Property, Performance, and Life  of  Today's Large-format Electrochemical Capacitors
   John R. Miller, President, JME, Inc. and Case Western Reserve University
   Abstract 

   

   Electrochemical capacitor technology has advanced considerably since the first components were introduced in 1978 by NEC. Today’s products, on both a mass and a volume basis, store considerably more energy and deliver significantly higher power than earlier devices. And today there are more than 50 companies throughout the world that manufacture such products. This presentation reports results from a study of large size (>1000 F) commercial or near-commercial electrochemical capacitor cells. Twelve cells from each of six different manufacturers were evaluated for electrical and life performance. Products from Asia, North America, and Europe were included in the study. Initial electrical characteristics and aging behavior of these large, state-of-the-art electrochemical capacitors are reported and compared.

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