Ultracapacitors Get Real: Lightning Flashlights
by Lloyd Alter, Toronto 
on 11.11.08
We often debate whether technology will save us or whether we should rely on simpler tried and true methods. However, sometimes when something comes out of the labs that is so different, such an improvement, one thinks that perhaps the geeks in the white coats might actually pull it off. An example might be Lightning Flashlight, an ultracapacitor flashlight that recharges in 90 seconds, is good for fifty thousand power cycles, contains no heavy metals and is RoHS compliant. Essentially, it is a light for life.
TreeHugger has been waiting for EEstor's ultracap for years, complaining about their lack of transparency, while IVUS Energy Innovations has been developing its FlashPoint ultracap and happily writing about it, and is bringing it to market. At $169 it isn't cheap, but it is designed for police and fire use and is competitive in that market.
They don't have any issues about explaining how it works, either; one distributor, 5.11, even has a blog.
What are the differences between a battery and a ultracapacitor?A battery stores energy through a chemical reaction. The flow of electrons (i.e. electricity) causes an oxidation/reduction reaction to occur between a metal and an electrolyte. This reaction effectively stores the electrical energy by forming a new compound. When energy is taken out of a battery, the chemical reaction goes the other direction. Of course since nothing is perfect, this process does not store 100% of the energy going in nor release 100% of the energy going out. Extreme temperatures dramatically effect this reaction resulting in poor battery performance. Also, this reaction gives off heat which increases the temperature of a battery resulting in low performance or reduced life. Every time this reaction takes place a battery looses its ability to transfer energy. After about 500 to 1000 cycles a typical battery needs to be replaced.
An ultracapacitor does not store energy through a chemical reaction.
The electrons that enter into an ultracapacitor get stored in tiny pores that exist in the carbon material on each electrode. The carbon material is like a sponge storing electrons through millions of nooks and crannies. Because the electrons are not converted into a chemical compound, they are quickly stored, and there is very little degradation. In fact, an ultracapacitor can be cycled 50,000 times without losing more than about 20% of its original energy.
So they have working, available ultracaps, now let's see them wire a few of them together and run a car with them. IVUS Innovations via Dvice
More ultracaps on TreeHugger:
EEStor + Skunk Works = Big News
EEstor Update: People Are Losing Faith
The Economist on Ultracaps and Tribrids
EEStor Ultra Capacitors: The Science Explained
Follow @TreeHugger on Twitter & get our headlines with @TH_rss!
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Geeks rule!
What a great tech advancement! Thanks for the post.
How is it a light for life if it only lasts 500 to 1000 charges? Does each charge last a year?
it is 50,000 charges. You are reading the section about typical batteries.
A closer read of the article reveals that 500 to 1000 is the number of charges a rechargable battery can take. In this case, its using an ultracapacitor, not a battery - so it can take 50,000 charges.
It's amazing that this has taken so long to come out. Capacitors (at least in their current form) simply cannot store the amount of energy need for such applications as automobiles or airplanes.
But what about things they can do well with? Sprinkle some of these through the house for lighting and perhaps fans and maybe even cooking and you have a great way to store the energy from some PV's or other renewable which isn't always on.
It'd be perfect for offgrid applications too... no more expensive toxic batteries for powering your lighting and cooking.
Fast charge yes. But what I want to know is how many minutes will the light operate on a single charge, versus that same cylinder packed with rechargeable NiMh cells opearting on a single charge.
runtime sucks, just 15 mins at its peak brightness of 270 lumens, the use of the word pek worried me too as it suggests the brigthness is unregulated and will dimininish when the capacitor starts to run low on charge. In comparison a cheap $15 torch equipped with a Q5 led and pair of aa 2900mah rechargables will get around 220 lumens (regulated so it will actually maintain that brightness) for close to 2 hours
But i guess its a start...
Saw an ultra capacitor at NAPA the other day. Smaller than a car battery, lighter, holds more juice than a car battery. $350 from MicronTN. Recharges in 20 seconds.
I thought WOW there is my EV battery but I am still establishing an understanding of why it isn't that easy.
Could replace hybrid batteries I would think anyhow...
Actually, you're all reading it wrong (regarding the 50,000 charges). It says you can charge it 50,000 times without losing more than 20% of it's capacity. So it goes well beyond 50,000.
What kind of ultracap are they using? I was under the impression that ultracaps using carbon nanotubes lose only 2% of their capacity after thousands of charges.