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This Defense Intelligence Reference Document from the Defense Intelligence Agency, dated 1 November 2010, was one of a series of advanced technology reports produced in FY 2010 under the Advanced Aerospace Weapons System Applications (AAWSA) Program. It reviews ultracapacitors as energy and power storage devices. It covers how they work, their materials, their commercial and military uses, and new developments such as carbon nanotubes, thin films and magnetic capacitors. It concludes that the U.S. government must understand and adopt advanced ultracapacitors.
UNCLASSIFIED//F9A: 9FFI~II k YE'lii 911k>C Chapter 6: Conclusions Ultracapacitors are becoming increasingly important in applications ranging from portable electronics to cargo transport cranes. Their introduction in electronic circuits for conversion and storage assistance will become the next major milestone. The virtually unlimited cycle life combined with high power capabilities has made them an integral component to many energy-management schemes. Early adoption of ultracaps by the military was an important differentiator for vehicle performance and a technology driver. Improvements to activated carbons and manufacturing techniques have brought costs down. The ultracapacitor is relatively young and is expanding rapidly as ultracaps are reaching a more widespread audience. Increased adoption has led to recognition of the benefits, and the attention has allowed researchers to develop a better understanding of the power-storage mechanisms. New materials and cell designs will produce increased capacitance and higher voltages, which will in turn give ultracapacitors better energy density. Advanced carbons show great promise to generate a carbon electrode with much higher capacitance than the activated carbons in use today. These include porous carbons, carbon nanotubes, and graphene. Capacitance increases by the carbon electrode alone could double the energy density. Additional advantages in conductivity and the ability to functionalize these materials will generate improvements in power density as well as energy density. Hybrid systems utilizing a battery-like electrode are beginning to gain acceptance. These pseudocapacitive systems maintain the high power density of a symmetric ultracap and also have substantially higher energy density. While these systems sacrifice some cycle-life capability, it appears as though they will survive tens of thousands of cycles. Ultracapacitors are a solution for generating or absorbing high pulse power. They also are excellent devices for backup power and stabilization of fluctuating power requirements. Increased power densities and energy densities will open up new applications for ultracaps, replacing fuel and batteries in some cases, supplementing them in others. Power management and generation for military systems will see increasing uses for ultracaps. Their unique capabilities will enable future designs. Their specific performance capabilities must be optimally utilized and we must have a keen understanding and awareness of the unique spectral signatures these devices generate when storing high power and in charge or discharge modes. Development of these advanced ultracaps must be performed, understood, and adopted by the U.S. government and those who are developing the systems to be used by the government. 27 UNCLASSIFIED/ /P81il 8ffl&I.t.k Wlilii SUik>/
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Report, from the dia collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 34 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.