OREANDA-NEWS. January 11, 2011. ERR - A new energy-storing material for supercapacitors and lithium ion batteries, developed by the Tartu company  Skeleton Technologies, has received a patent in the United States. The new supercapacitors are made of a new nonporous carbide-derived carbon that has a much greater energy density than commercially available ones, and have undergone the first successful trials. The technology could potentially be used by a range of sectors from the automotive industry to defense contracting, and General Motors has expressed interest.

The inventors are Skeleton Technologies researchers Dr. Jaan Leis, Dr. Mati Arulepp, Dr. Marko Latt and Helle Kuura.

“A problem experienced today with capacitors is the low energy densities and power densities. The mass-produced supercondensers are too big and heavy for many uses, and also expensive due to high material cost," said Leis.