STTR Phase II: High Energy and Power Density Supercapacitors Utilizing Electrodes Comprising Nanofibrous Carbon-Carbon Composites

这一小型企业技术转移(STTR)第二阶段项目将优化第一阶段开发的技术，以制备含有介孔高比表面积碳的复合纳米碳纤维，作为使用离子液体电解液的超级电容器的电极材料。第一阶段的结果表明，采用我们正在申请专利的碳纤维的测试设备的性能已经超过了商业超级电容器，并且可以提供接近具有优越重量功率密度的铅酸电池的能量密度。该技术将使用成本较低的聚合物前体和碳模板进一步开发和优化。在10千瓦/千克(封装)下实现我们的第二阶段目标30瓦时/千克(封装)，并具有高达5x10^5循环的一致性能，这意味着该技术可以成为应用于高能、高功率储能系统的首选材料。该项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力在于极大地扩大了现有产品的超级电容器市场，并使新技术成为可能，特别是在那些需要比目前超级电容器提供的能量密度更高的领域。这种超级电容器将非常适合应用于混合动力汽车(HEV)市场，包括快速充电站、电网频率调节以及可再生能源的负载均衡。由于化石燃料消耗的减少、电网可靠性的提高、可再生能源生产成本的降低以及铅酸电池的更换，提高混合动力汽车的生存能力将带来直接的社会效益。到2015年，全球对超级电容器的需求预计将达到12亿美元。

This Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase II project will optimize the technology developed in Phase I for the fabrication of composite carbon nanofibers incorporating mesoporous high surface area carbon as an electrode material for supercapacitors utilizing ionic liquid electrolytes. The Phase I results showed that test devices incorporating our patent-pending carbon fibers have surpassed the performance of commercial supercapacitors and can provide energy densities approaching that of lead acid batteries with superior gravimetric power density. The technology is to be further developed and optimized using lower cost polymer precursors and carbon templates. Achievement of our Phase II goals of 30 Wh/kg at 10 kW/kg (packaged) with consistent performance up to 5x10^5 cycles means that this technology can become the material of choice for application to high-energy, high-power energy storage systems. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project lies in greatly expanding the market for supercapacitors for existing products and enabling new technologies, especially in those areas requiring energy densities that are higher than those provided by current supercapacitors. Such supercapacitors will be well suited for application to the Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) market, including rapid charging stations; frequency regulation for the electric grid; and load leveling for renewable energy sources. Direct societal benefits will come from improving the viability of HEV due to reductions in fossil fuel consumption, improvements in power grid reliability, reducing costs for renewable energy production, and in replacing lead acid batteries. The world demand for supercapacitors is expected to reach $1.2 billion by 2015.