Nano-Engineered Carbon Ultracapacitor for Satellite Energy Storage

The United States Air Force (USAF) has identified the need for an advanced and reliable ultracapacitor to prolong the operational life of military satellites that use batteries for their energy storage. In this Phase II developmental effort Giner, Inc. will design, develop and fabricate a full-scale innovative Electrochemical Double-Layer Capacitor (EDLC) device that has low overall Equivalent Series Resistance (ESR), high capacitance (>10,000 farads) and high energy density to meet the demands of the USAF. The innovative concept combines high-surface-area (greater than 2500 m2/g) nano-porous carbons and organic electrolytes with improved current collector/ultracapacitor active material interface conductivity for a high-capacitance and high-energy-density device. The feasibility of this innovative concept was successfully demonstrated in Phase I. In Phase II we will refine and finalize the design of the ultracapacitor and optimize its performance. Two prototypes will be designed and fabricated at the end of Phase II. The full-scale prototypes will be capable of operating through greater than 500,000 charge-discharge cycles and will deliver 10,000 Farads.