Research Articles

Supercapacitors are energy storage devices that offer distinct properties when compared to batteries. Supercapacitors have higher power density and lower energy density than batteries. They also have a significantly larger cycle lifetime, in the tens of thousands, which enables them to undergo frequent charge-discharge cycles without degradation. This allows them to perform in applications where batteries are not appropriate. IDTechEx covers supercapacitors in detail in its recent report: "Supercapacitors 2026-2036: Technologies, Applications and Forecasts".

IDTechEx analyst Daniel Parr compares the energy and power density for supercapacitors to other energy storage devices; covers how supercapacitors work; and compares different types of supercapacitors.

The market for remote battery monitoring is expected to continue to grow over the next decade, fueled by demand from mobility and energy storage system managers. This trend is tied to increasing interest in wireless battery management systems (wBMSs) to save on wiring costs and reduce battery pack complexity, though the majority of the market will continue to be made up of wired BMSs using gateways to convert to wireless communications protocols.

The performance of supercapacitors is dominated by design and materials choice. Carbon-based materials for electrodes have dominated in the supercapacitors market for electric double-layer supercapacitors (EDLCs), due to low cost, cycling durability and conductivity, and IDTechEx expects this will continue to be the case in the coming decade.

A data center fire has caused the shutdown of hundreds of online government services in South Korea, likely caused by a battery explosion. This incident is particularly severe, but there have been many like it through the battery energy storage system (BESS) industry, highlighting the need for further improvements to enhance battery safety.

The global market for supercapacitors has seen steady growth over the last decade due to niches in automotive, power grid, and industrial applications, and will continue to do so from 2026 to 2036, with an expected global market size of US$4.86 billion by 2036. The newly-released report from IDTechEx, "Supercapacitors 2026-2036: Technologies, Applications and Forecasts", offers in-depth independent analysis of this growing market.

Gas sensors are poised to see increasing adoption in battery packs in electric vehicles and energy storage systems, with the battery pack gas sensor market expected to exceed US$157.1 million by 2036.

IDTechEx forecast that the global market for advanced battery pack sensors will reach US$224 million by 2036.

Conventional battery pack sensors measure the voltage, current and temperature of cells within the pack. However, it is increasingly clear that additional sensors would significantly enhance safety and allow for early warning and even prevention of thermal runaway, and in turn battery fires, in electric vehicles (EVs) and energy storage systems (ESS). Gas sensors, pressure sensors, moisture sensors, humidity sensors and aerosol sensors can all play a role.

Lithium-sulfur is already seeing development across multiple continents and is expected to achieve mass production by 2033. IDTechEx predicts that by 2035, the lithium-sulfur market will exceed US$1.3 billion.

Lithium metal batteries will form a significant portion of next-generation electric vehicle batteries. However, increasingly, lithium metal battery developers are taking the anode-less approach, constructing cells without lithium metal foils at the anode to reduce costs. Anode-less designs are poised to become a primary focus of commercialization for lithium metal battery developers.

Lithium metal batteries are well placed to see significant adoption in the next ten years. IDTechEx anticipates mass production of solid-state lithium metal in 2027/2028; of liquid electrolyte lithium metal in 2029/2030,6 and of lithium-sulfur in 2031/2032.

AI is placed to reshape the battery supply chain over the next few years, with machine learning providing powerful tools for cell developers, materials suppliers, battery users, and even recyclers. IDTechEx Technology Analyst shares more on how valuable data can finally be used to its full effect.

The battery industry is facing increasing pressure to develop new chemistries and materials to keep up with rising energy density and sustainability demands. The traditional materials discovery process is both expensive and time-consuming. Machine learning methods, specifically materials informatics, could provide a necessary avenue for accelerating the battery development process.

Ensuring that a suitable diagnostic service is provided for insured battery deployments can be advantageous. Already, the market has seen arrangements whereby an insurer will offer better premiums for fleet and BESS owners should they use machine-learning-assisted diagnostics services.

As the electric vehicle (EV) and battery energy storage system (BESS) industries grow, requirements for the batteries that power them become more demanding. To achieve more energy-dense batteries that aren't unsustainably expensive, faster battery development is needed, as well as more efficient management, manufacturing, and recycling methods. Artificial intelligence (AI) will play an important role in achieving these goals.

IDTechEx's report includes details on thin, flexible batteries for micro-power applications, and the gradual move towards sustainable alternatives.

Multiple consumer electronics giants, including Apple, Samsung, and Nokia, have previously shown interest in flexible smartphones. Indeed, it naturally seems like the next step after foldable and curved smartphones have seen development and commercialization in the last decade. However, the path to fully flexible smartphones is far from simple, and the reward for successful development is ambiguous.

Since the conception of flexible battery technologies, suppliers have searched for strong application markets for their products. In the last five years, niches have finally begun to materialize, though the specific use case depends on battery technology.