Supercapacitor model captures complex physics of charging

A new model that predicts the charging timescales of supercapacitors much more accurately than had been previously possible has been unveiled by researchers in the Netherlands and China. Cheng Lian and colleagues at Utrecht University and the East China University of Science and Technology built their model by describing the complex porous structures within a supercapacitor as stacks of thin electrode plates. Their work could improve our ability to predict the charging characteristics of supercapacitor energy storage systems used in a wide range of applications including electric vehicles and solar-powered street lighting.