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Imagine a car that weighs a lot less and doesn't rely on the battery to power windows, mirrors, seats and other convenience features, including fuel-saving stop-start functions.
Those are both clear possibilitites with a supercapacitor, the cutting edge of current electric technology.
Basically, a supercapacitor has two isolated plates that hold charge between them, can be charged as quickly as you can pump the supply into them, has little to wear out, and _ with an almost indefinite life _ do not create the disposal problem of conventional batteries.
Supercapacitors are already being used to provide acceleration bursts in electric cars and capture the energy of regenerative braking, but could spread quickly through future cars, according to the company that supplied systems for the aXess Australia and E-Commodore concept cars.
"There's a role for them in stop-start systems. That's under development with a number of companies," Anthony Kongats of Australia's CAP-XX company says.
But Kongats says there are considerable gains to be made by scattering supercapacitors throughout a car _ a concept also in development.
"To power various functions throughout the car that require a burst of electrical energy _ like power windows or airbags - you could locate small supercapacitors next to the need," he says.
"This means you can run a thinner wiring harness because you don't have to deliver from the car battery or alternator. The weight saving would be quite tremendous."
Kongats says that, as supercapacitors develop, batteries will also improve because designers will not have to compromise their ability to store by making them also provide high current. This means your future notebook computer or mobile will have a battery that lasts the life of the appliance.
And the same could potentially apply to car batteries, though they are more likely to be overtaken by other technology, Kongats says.
"I would think the way supercapacitors will play a larger role (in vehicle propulsion) is not by using a battery but by commercialising fuel cells because they can last 20 years."
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