Present and Future of Supercapacitor Technology Applied to Powertrains, Renewable Generation and Grid Connection Applications

Abstract

Energy storage systems (ESS) are becoming essential as a solution for troublesome industrial systems. This study focuses on the application of a type of ESS, a high-power technology known in the literature as supercapacitors or electric double layer capacitors (EDLC). This technology has had a huge impact during the last decade on research related to the electric traction drives, renewable sources and powergrids. Related to this aspect, this paper summarizes the most relevant scientific publications in the last five years that study the use of supercapacitor technology (SCs) in electric traction applications (drives for rail vehicles and drives for road vehicles), generation systems for renewable energy (wind, solar and wave energy), and connection systems to the electric grid (voltage and frequency regulation and microgrids). The technology based on EDLC and the practical aspects that must be taken into account in the op-eration of these systems in industrial applications are briefly described. For each of the aforementioned applications, it is described how the problems are solved by using the energy storage technology, drawing the solutions proposed by different authors. Special attention is paid to the control strategies when combining SCs with other technologies, such as batteries. As a summary, some conclusions are collected drawn from the publications analyzed, evaluating the aspects in which it is necessary to conduct further research in order to facilitate the integration of EDLC technology.

EDL structure of ionic liquid-MXene-based supercapacitor and hydrogen bond role on the interface: a molecular dynamics simulation investigation

“…5,6 On the other hand, the alternative device supercapacitors show better prospects thanks to their very high power density and long-term durability. 7,8 In recent decades, supercapacitors have seen growing demand for use in electric vehicles, storage of intermittent renewable sources, and power grids, but have been limited due to their low energy density. 5 Therefore, it is very urgent to increase the energy density of supercapacitors.…”

Designing supercapacitor electrolyte via ion counting

“…4,5 They have also been shown to be useful in applications like railway systems and buses, 6 electrochemical actuators, 7 capture of renewable energy 8 and load balancing in power grids. 9 A considerable amount of research and development effort has been focused on improving supercapacitor active materials, notably activated carbon, [10][11][12] nanocarbons and graphene [13][14][15] for double layer capacitors, and metal oxides such as ruthenium oxide (RuO x ) 16 and MXenes 17 for pseudocapacitors.…”

Agarose Gel-Templating Synthesis of a 3D Wrinkled Graphene Architecture for Enhanced Supercapacitor Performance

“…It is extremely important to use renewable energy sources to achieve the goal of carbon neutrality. The power output of most renewable energy sources, such as sunlight and wind, exhibits natural fluctuations, necessitating the use of energy storage devices to achieve a balance between energy supply and demand [ 1 ]. Among the various types of energy storage devices (e.g., rechargeable battery [ 2 ], supercapacitor [ 3 ]), supercapacitors are especially significant because they offer rapid charge–discharge ability with low energy losses, as well as a long cycling life and excellent power density [ 4 ].…”