Ultracapacitor firm aims for energy storage innovations

A company that produces ultracapacitor-based energy storage products plans to work three other US firms on energy storage research and development programs.

Maxwell Technologies expects to receive more than $500,000 in state and federal funding for collaborative R&D efforts with Yardney Technical Products, a Connecticut-based battery manufacturer; Ohio-based Calgon Carbon Corporation; and Nanotek Instruments of Dayton, Ohio.

The research project with Yardney will focus on application of Maxwell’s solvent-free, electrode fabrication process to produce high-performance, low-cost, lithium-ion battery electrode material. It also aims to integrate Maxwell’s high power-density ultracapacitors with Yardney’s high energy-density batteries for optimized energy storage solutions for transportation, industrial and other applications.

“This is a great opportunity to improve the state-of-the-art for energy storage technology,” said Vince Yevoli, Yardney’s president and chief operating officer.

Maxwell will also work with Calgon Carbon to establish a domestic source of high-performance, low-cost carbon for ultracapacitors, and with collaborate with Nanotek Instruments to determine how graphene might be used to increase the energy density of ultracapacitors.