Development of ruggerized high-performance supercapacitors for OPEX environment – SC4OPEX

Today, energy is proving to be essential to all defense activities. Civilian world currently develops innovations in energy, that cannot fully be used by armies due to specific and harsh conditions requested by defense forces. Mechanical robustness, operational safety, autonomy, operation, even in degraded mode still require major developments to be used in a military operations.

The SC4OPEX project proposes a particular approach addressing this problem by implementing a new generation of robust high-performance supercapacitors. Supercapacitors are electrical energy storage devices whose mechanisms are based on very fast and reversible kinetics which give them great abilities to provide high power and recharge quickly ensuring high cyclability without degradation. They will be developped specifically to overcome existing shortcomings through hybridization concepts and push the limits of high energy density technologies such as lithium batteries currently available and limited in terms of power, operating temperature, safety and reliability in harsh environments. SC4OPEX technology will attempt to make them usable by defense forces by developing a high-power supercapacitor that can be hybridized with a battery, and a high-energy hybrid supercapacitor.

The first approach is based on the development of a supercapacitor that can be hybridized with a battery. In this configuration, the supercapacitor acts as a battery assistant allowing peak power delivery, optimization of the exploitable energy/stored energy ratio and therefore improving the reliability of the system. The second approach is based on the development of a hybrid supercapacitor technology, offering power and energy and benefiting from greater cyclability than lithium batteries. The operation of this hybrid supercapacitor is based on innovative electrode materials combining faradic materials and electrically conductive materials with rapid surface oxidation-reduction reactions in addition to electrostatic storage phenomena.

The work planned in SC4OPEX aims to set up supercapacitors compliant with the demanding military environment both in terms of electrical specifications and operational environment. Thus the targeted improvements are based on an extension of the operating temperature range of supercapacitors and hybrid supercapacitors and on resistance to shocks, tears and vibrations by introducing an innovative concept of self-healing electrolyte, giving the devices increased robustness. To achieve these ambitious objectives, research work dedicated to the study of new electrostatic and faradic electrode materials, to the study of organic and aqueous electrolyte and to packaging will be carried out. Finally, after an evaluation of the compatibility of the systems with the OPEX constraints, it will propose an estimate of the impact on the performance and gains on the overall system, particularly in the case of hybridization with a battery for supercapacitors.