Supercapacitors, also known as ultracapacitors or electrochemical double layer capacitors (EDLC), are electrochemical capacitors that have an unusually high energy density when compared to common capacitors, typically on the order of thousands of times greater than a high-capacity electrolytic capacitor. For instance, a typical D-cell sized electrolytic capacitor will have a storage capacity measured in microfarads, while the same size supercapacitor would store several farads, an improvement of about 10,000 times. Larger commercial supercapacitors have capacities as high as 5,000 farads.[1]
Supercapacitors have a variety of commercial applications, notably in "energy smoothing" and momentary-load devices. Some of the earliest uses were motor startup capacitors for large engines in tanks and submarines, and as the cost has fallen they have started to appear on diesel trucks and railroad locomotives.[2] More recently they have become a topic of some interest in the green energy world, where their ability to quickly soak up energy makes them particularly suitable for regenerative braking applications, whereas batteries have difficulty in this application due to slow charging times. If the LEES or EEStor devices can be commercialized, they will make an excellent replacement for batteries in all-electric cars and plug-in hybrids, as they combine quick charging, temperature stability and excellent safety properties.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supercapacitor
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