New capacitor could boost energy-efficient devices

A new type of capacitor could ultimately lead to ultra-efficient electric cars, mobile phones and laptops, according to reports.

Designed by a team at the University of Maryland and researchers from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, the new prototype capacitor can store power as densely as a super capacitor but release it as quickly as the fastest electrostatic capacitors. As descibed in the journal Nature Nanotechnology, the resulting capacitor can hold 2,500 joules, and discharge one megawatt of energy, per kilogram.

Speaking about the invention, Gary Rubloff, a chemist at the University of Maryland, is quoted as saying "Our primary target [for this technology] is as part of a hybrid battery-capacitor system for electric cars. But there are many [potential] small scale applications, [including] better electrical storage systems for cellphones or laptops." 

A team from the University of Michigan recently suggested that capacitors and switches can be made from nanodevices using a method similar to origami.

Components Bureau is a leading UK supplier of electronic components.