SBIR Phase II: Developing Advanced Ultracapacitors Using Carbon Nanomaterials and Environmentally Friendly Electrolytes

The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project seeks to develop advanced ultracapacitors for hybrid electric vehicles (HEV). The proposed research combines the unique properties of carbon nanotube (CNT) electrodes with those of environmentally friendly ionic liquid electrolytes to develop ultracapacitors possessing high performance (energy and power densities) and long life for HEVs. The proposed research will focus on optimization of CNT materials, production of selected CNT electrodes on a larger scale, and fabrication and evaluation of packaged prototype ultracapacitors. Advanced vehicular ultracapacitrs are extremely useful in achieving better fuel economy, decreasing harmful emissions, and reducing the nation's reliance on foreign sources of petroleum. More generally, ultracapacitors are essential components in consumer electronics (ex: notebook computers, cell phones, pagers, video cameras), medical electronics (ex: drug delivery units), and military and defense systems (ex: spacecraft probes, missile systsms). In addition to ultracapacitors, research in the proposed project will also have a broad impact on the applications of carbon nanomaterials to other electronic and electrochemical devices.