Discovered: 'super charge' breakthrough on electric cars

A major breakthrough in electric car technology is claimed to be capable of slashing charging times from hours to minutes.

And one of the experts involved in the development - Dr Brendan Howlin - told 'Motors' he expects to see a working model of the new system up and running by the Spring.

Dr Howlin, whose parents hailed from Wexford, told Independent Motors: "We hope to have a working supercapacitor by the Spring and then the company will set up a factory to produce them."

He added: "The initial impact on motoring is likely to be as an adjunct to batteries for electric cars, but there is a supercapacitor- powered bus in China already, so the technology is already there."

That all follows research in which he was involved that discovered new materials which represent an alternative to battery power.

The work has shown the materials are between 1,000 to 10,000 times more powerful than existing lithium-ion battery alternatives.

In other words a supercapacitor.

The development could, if all goes to plan, mean electric cars would no longer be restricted by lengthy charge times.

Dr Howlin said: "This new ultra capacity supercapacitor has the potential to open the door to unimaginably exciting developments."

But there is some way to go, despite the initial burst of enthusiasm.

Ground-breaking research by him at the University of Surrey, in conjunction with the University of Bristol, Augmented Optics Ltd and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Supercapacitor Materials Ltd, has come up with what is described as "a safer, faster charging, more efficient and greener alternative to battery power and supercapacitor abilities as we currently know them".

It could - stress could - "revolutionise the capabilities of appliances that have previously relied on battery power to work".

It is claimed the technology could have a "seismic impact" on transport, aerospace, energy generation and household applications such as mobile phones, flat screen electronic devices and biosensors.

Above all it could "revolutionise" electric cars.

It is estimated that they could be re-charged as quickly as a conventional tank re-fuel.

Supercapacitor buses are already being used in China, but they currently have a limited range.

An alternative power source to batteries, supercapacitors charge and deliver energy quickly, unlike the batteries we know.

But while the key to supercapacitors is their speed at charging and discharging over huge numbers of cycles, their basic design has prevented them from storing anything like the same amount of electrical energy as batteries.

Now, however, the new development could mean that while your electric car might not enjoy a similar range to a fossil-fuelled vehicle, it would take only minutes to re-charge. That would end range-anxiety and charging delays in one fell swoop.

It is early days and we have had many false 'breakthrough' dawns before, but this appears to offer the potential of a real advance.

We'll have to wait and see.

Indo Motoring

Source: Discovered: 'super charge' breakthrough on electric cars