Richard Balanson, chief executive at supercapacitor manufacturer Maxwell Technologies, answers our five questions on the market for double layer electrolytics.

What does Epcos’ decision to exit supercapacitor production mean for the market?
Epcos played a leading role in the “evangelistic” phase of the development of the ultracapacitor business. Its very presence in the market lent credibility to the industry as it was striving to achieve critical mass.

While the market is losing one of its pioneers, ultracapacitors’ unique ability to enhance the efficiency of virtually any system that generates or consumes electrical energy by at least 20-30 per cent ensures a bright future for the technology.
 
Do you agree with the Epcos statement that “this product area is no longer seen as economically justifiable”?
Nearly all markets for ultracapacitors are what we call price-enabled. Until the products became price-competitive with other power and energy alternatives, there was no market for them. Price is a function of cost, and the predominant cost driver for ultracapacitors is its carbon powder-based electrode.

Epcos outsourced electrode material, while Maxwell invested heavily in material science and manufacturing process development. We believe that our proprietary electrode material gives us the industry’s lowest cost position.

That, along with improved product design and manufacturing efficiency, including offshore production, is allowing us to price and compete aggressively and build a large and profitable business.
 
What are the current target markets for supercapacitors?
The largest long-term market opportunity is the transportation segment, where ultracapacitors are used for braking energy recuperation, which reduces fuel consumption, and electrical network power solutions to satisfy growing electrical loads created by the electrification of vehicle sub-systems such as braking and steering.

Currently, renewable energy applications such as wind turbine blade pitch systems, energy storage for solar applications and fuel cell augmentation, and industrial applications such as peak power for robotic systems and actuators, bridge power for UPS and telecom applications, and power for automated utility meters are driving rapidly growing demand.
 
Can the devices break into high volume markets and replace low cost battery technologies?
Ultracapacitors already are penetrating high volume markets and replacing batteries in applications such as UPS, wind energy and hybrid transit buses, to name a few.

Ultracapacitors have numerous advantages versus batteries, including maintenance-free usage, higher reliability, longer lifetime and low temperature performance. However, ultracapacitors and batteries also work well together, providing optimised designs not achievable with either technology alone.

Can supercapacitors fit with a greener, more environmentally friendly view of product development?
Ultracapacitors themselves are environmentally friendly. They consist mainly of carbon and aluminium and contain no heavy metals. They are also enabling development of more environmentally compatible products such as hybrid vehicles, fuel cells, solar systems and windmills.

www.maxwell.com