Graphene SuperCapacitor Breakthrough Is FINALLY Here!

Go to bit.ly/3xzaugU and use code TWOBIT to get 15% off ClickUp's massive Unlimited Plan for a year!

This will be a game-changer for electric subway trains that use friction-braking to decelerate (in some places the third-rail doesn't support regen-braking) - no more PM2 dust!

Hmm. What would be amazing is if we could find an near-perfect insulator that's also 1 atom thick. Li Ion batteries are made as a 'jelly roll', meaning there's one long strip of lithium on a substrate that is then rolled into a barrel. The problem with a graphene supercapacitor is that the stuff between the graphene isn't 1 atom thick. If we can find that 1-atom-thick insulator and find a way to bond it to a single layer of graphene, stack two of them and then roll all of that together in a jelly roll, then we'd have a super capacitor that's on par or better than standard Li Ion batteries.

Supercaps are a pretty cool technology. We incorporated some of the very first high-capacity capacitors a few decades ago... a whole 1F. We used them to backup static ram chips and real-time clocks. They could keep them going for a week(!). That way, no lithium battery on the board that would have to be replaced every 5 years. These days 100F is common. The problem is still storage density, though. I can see them being used, in particular, in energy recovery systems. But I think we are a long ways away from being able to replace chemical batteries. -Matt

Trican uses their automotive version to start 16L engines. I have personally installed them about 200 24V skeleton caps in the past year and they all work great 👍

You went with this video exactly where I was thinking: combo of super capacitors and batteries is best depending on the niche problem being addressed. So great to see some level headed thinking on YT rather than more blind hype saying that we found a “one size fits all” solution for all our problems!

This Graphene SuperCapacitor Breakthrough is HUGE! No it's not, Amber.

I sometimes feel like Graphene is becoming the Fusion energy of the Materials world, we know how to make it, we know it has revolutionary potential, but we JUST CAN'T QUITE FIGURE OUT HOW TO MAKE IT COMMERCIALLY VIABLE!! It's Very Maddening!!

I thought there was nothing more to know about the state of graphene super capacitors, but this was the most clear, to the point, no bs, honest truth and realistic use case graphene video I've seen, ...and I've literally seen them all!

Super caps on Perovskite solar panels? That could really make a huge difference in the potential on every roof.

I’m glad to see that you did a video on supercapacitors, I’ve been thinking they have tremendous potential that hasn’t been much talked about. Regarding ludicrous mode, it seems to me that they might be useful even in regular driving. When you accelerate from a stop, even if not accelerating rapidly, you’re still using more power than when you’re going along at a steady pace. If super capacitors provided the extra energy for acceleration from a stop, perhaps battery packs could last longer and maybe the electronics connecting the battery pack to the motor could be simpler.

Very good point about buffering! All it takes is for someone to turn on a shower or kettle during peak load to stress out a home battery.

One of my Star Trek-ian dreams is lightning rods, with giant high-speed switching arrays, and banks of supercapacitors, to absorb the energy of lightning bolts. Lightning strikes 50-100 times per second, somewhere on the Earth. If we only had a network to absorb and distribute the energy around the globe....

Capacitor voltage drops linearly with discharge and supercaps are usually low voltage so a complex DC to DC convertor is required to use them along with battery packs, which usually makes them a consideration for larger systems with batteries, but not smaller ones.

Graphene used on a commercial scale is always good news!

I've installed one dozen super capacitors for my car audio setup along with an agm battery and high output built aftermarket alternator, big difference in power output and it's super steady for around 3,000 watt rms output to subwoofer. I'm still testing after almost two years bumping on them, so far better then just batteries with an alternator.

Supercapacitors are the perfect buffer for batteries. Supercapacitors can enable faster charging by evening out the charging curve, absorb more energy from regen, faster acceleration. Especially city driving will benefit a lot from supercapacitors. Only a few percent of the battery need to be replaced by supercapacitors, and lower performance battery technology like LFP benefits even more by them.

Been hearing about graphene and sulfur batteries for years now. When can I open my presents already!?!?! too excited to wait any longer

Thank-you for being real and clear about what capacitors can do. I've had people trying to tell me that ultra-caps are achieving the same energy density as LI batteries. I simply told them, "I don't think so.". But, here's the proof. Yes, I think it's a good idea to use them to take up the surge from starting and stopping a vehicle, but not as a substitute for main energy storage.

Ricky, Very Exciting near-term tech! Great report! Cheers, Eric