Ioxus Announces New Ultracapacitors

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Three thousand farad iCAPs

Ioxus, a manufacturer of premium high performance ultracapacitors has announced the release of its iCAP™ ultracapacitor. It says that it is both more durable and performs better than traditional ultracapacitors.

Ultracapacitors are ELDCs (Electric Dual Layer Capacitors), an enhancement of traditional capacitor technology that offer far superior energy storage capacity to that of traditional single-layer capacitors.

The new iCAP series ultracapacitor has a capacity of 3,000 Farad, and Ioxus claims the following advantages:

  • Weldable screw terminals
  • Highest power performance available
  • RoHS compliant
  • Long life
  • Extreme temperature operating range
  • Made in USA

It also claims that it has the lowest ESR (Equivalent Series Resistance) and highest power density (power to weight ratio, which is often measured in watts per kilogram) on the market.

“As our customers in automotive, energy and other sectors push their offerings toward greater efficiency and higher performance, the importance of 3,000F ultracapacitor cells increases,” said Mark McGough, CEO of Ioxus. “By lowering the ESR, increasing the power density beyond the most competitive product available, and making the product rugged enough to pass shock and vibe tests that competing products cannot, the Ioxus iCAP series delivers what no one else can: a more powerful, more rugged cell that adapts to myriad uses.”

Potential applications that could benefit from the high efficiency, resilience, and high performance of ultracapacitors include electric vehicles and hybrid electric vehicles. Additionally, iCAP ultracapacitors are designed for applications in which they would be subjected to intensive vibration and shock, such as heavy machinery and rail. Despite the noted differences between iCAP supercapacitors and the others on the market, they are still the standard 2.7 volts, as most other large models are.

Additional Information:

  • Operating Temperature Range: -40 °C to 65 °C
  • Lifespan: 10 years at 25 °C
  • Cycle Life*: 1 million cycles at half the rated voltage
  • Datasheet

*Note: cycle life and lifespan are two different things when talking about ultracapacitors or batteries. Cycle life is the number of times the battery or ultracapacitor can be charged and discharged (cycled). One cycle is equal to 1 charge and 1 discharge. Lifespan, on the other hand, is how long the battery or ultracapacitor can last in years, irrelevant of the number of times it was cycled. Lithium ion batteries are a good example of the difference because they self-degrade and die after up to ten years, whether or not they are used heavily.

The more you use the ultracapacitor or battery, the more you discharge it, and the more it will have to be recharged. If there was no shelf-life limit or other form of degradation, these batteries could last much longer (2,739 years, actually).

Just keep this in mind when shopping for batteries —don’t be fooled by claims about a high number of cycles, because that doesn’t help you much.

h/t Ioxus | Photo Credit: Ioxus


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Nicholas Brown

Has a keen interest in physics-intensive topics such as electricity generation, refrigeration and air conditioning technology, energy storage, and geography. His website is: Kompulsa.com.

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