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Pan Lei， a Chinese electric vehicle （EV） maker， praised an American girl Esha Khare for a great advancement in a fast-charging capacitor. The 18-year-old high school graduate from California won the Intel Foundation Young Scientist Award of $50，000 for her invention of an ultra-fast charging gadget that can load power into a phone in just 20 seconds. Chinese EV manufacturers hope that her invention will be employed to power cars and boost a sector that has long been encumbered by insufficient energy storage technology.
Since 2008 the Chinese Government has thrown its weight behind the development of pure EVs as part of its efforts to boost new-energy automobiles. But long charging hours have become a stumbling block. According to Pan， Director of Market Department of Yangzhou Yaxing Motor Coach Co. Ltd.， lead-acid and lithium cells used in pure EVs usually take more than 10 hours to charge.
“I’m trying to contact Esha Khare and ask to join in her research of power-storage cells for EVs，” Pan said.
Dubbed as the “supercapacitor，” the powerstorage gadget was invented more than three decades ago. Currently， the mini-supercapacitor is used in computer memory， camera， audio devices and big supercapacitors are used in automobiles and energy collection.
Supercapacitors store higher amounts of charge than regular capacitors and have gar-nered attention as energy-storage devices because they charge and discharge faster than batteries. However， unlike batteries， they are limited by low energy densities.
Yangzhou Yaxing Motor Coach Co. Ltd. is one of the two supercapacitor bus makers in China. It officially launched its supercapacitor bus in June. Different from a conventional bus， Yaxing’s new model can be charged in eight minutes to run 18 km and is able to dispense 100，000 recharge cycles.
Yaxing’s new EV will be exported to Israel， said Pan.
Since the supercapacitor features quick charging and fast discharging， it means it can only run a short distance after one charge. In this sense， it would be best suited for a bus to recharge at every two or three stops. There’s a long way to go before the supercapacitor can be used in cars， said Pan.
Golden opportunity
This year scientists from the University of California， Los Angeles， have developed highperformance supercapacitors with graphene electrodes， which could pave the way for a new class of flexible energy-storage devices. According to CIConsulting， a Shenzhen- based research company， the latest advancement has made supercapacitors the best option for EV energy storage technology and China’s supercapacitor market will increase more than 30 percent to 3.38 billion yuan （$551 million） by 2016.
Compared with the United States， China still lags behind in research and development of the supercapacitor. “The next few years will witness big progress in supercapacitor technologies and it will also be an important period for the industrialization of EVs，” said Pan.
In fact， most countries have shown their determination to develop EVs， which is also a priority for many global carmakers， including those in China. Data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers showed that out of 120 Chinese carmakers， more than 30 have plans to develop EVs.
EVs have serious performance obstacles to overcome before they will be able to compete with conventional gas cars and only battery innovation can accomplish that goal. This is why Chinese EV makers have cheered the new progress in supercapacitors in the United States.
Although the United States has taken a lead in supercapacitor technologies， China could find a foothold in the bus market.
As of the end of 2012， there had been 27，800 EVs in China， with 80 percent being electric buses. The Beijing Municipal Government plans to have 8，000 electric or hybrid public buses on the streets by 2015—a third of the total number in the capital.
According to the report released by Roland Berger in June， government subsidies for electric mobility are falling in all countries—except China， providing an opportunity to catch up in the long term by leveraging industrial and technological development； the next five years will be crucial.
“In China， we believe that the market will take off in the long run if the government and the industry keep investing，” said John Shen， partner at Roland Berger.
Uncertain future
While carmakers are heartened by the future of EVs， experts are dampening that enthusiasm. In 2008， EVs sprang up at several international auto events and hopes were high that EVs were the near future.
“Five years later， people found that the EV era did not arrive as expected，” said Guan Yunshan， an industry analyst.
In 2009， the State Council planned to have the output of pure electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles reached 500，000 by 2015， accounting for 5 percent of the total number of passenger vehicles. The Ministry of Science and Technology called for pure EV ownership of 2.6 million by 2015. But Beijing is scaling back its ambitions. The annual sales of EVs in China was only 13，000 units in 2012， a trivial share compared to conventional cars.
The United States was no better. Only 50，000 EVs were sold in that country in 2012. A123 Systems， the U.S.-based advanced battery manufacturer for EVs and power grids， declared bankruptcy and was later acquired by Wanxiang， a Chinese industrial group.
California-based Coda Automotive sold only about 100 EVs since its first product hit the U.S. market last year and it recently filed for bankruptcy protection. U.S. electric car company Fisker Automotive Inc. also announced recently that it might go bankrupt if it cannot find new investors soon.
The United States is not an isolated case. Renault and Nissan have together just sold 70，000 electric cars last year， a long way to go to meet their goal of selling 1.5 million units worldwide by 2016.
China’s EV makers are learning that developing the EV industry is a lot tougher than they had hoped. Whether the supercapacitor will rescue the EV industry awaits to be seen.
“Although the government has pledged to subsidize the sector， the effects have not paid off as expected，” said Guan. “The commercialization of EVs is chastened by technological hurdles and lack of buyer interest.”
Since 2008 the Chinese Government has thrown its weight behind the development of pure EVs as part of its efforts to boost new-energy automobiles. But long charging hours have become a stumbling block. According to Pan， Director of Market Department of Yangzhou Yaxing Motor Coach Co. Ltd.， lead-acid and lithium cells used in pure EVs usually take more than 10 hours to charge.
“I’m trying to contact Esha Khare and ask to join in her research of power-storage cells for EVs，” Pan said.
Dubbed as the “supercapacitor，” the powerstorage gadget was invented more than three decades ago. Currently， the mini-supercapacitor is used in computer memory， camera， audio devices and big supercapacitors are used in automobiles and energy collection.
Supercapacitors store higher amounts of charge than regular capacitors and have gar-nered attention as energy-storage devices because they charge and discharge faster than batteries. However， unlike batteries， they are limited by low energy densities.
Yangzhou Yaxing Motor Coach Co. Ltd. is one of the two supercapacitor bus makers in China. It officially launched its supercapacitor bus in June. Different from a conventional bus， Yaxing’s new model can be charged in eight minutes to run 18 km and is able to dispense 100，000 recharge cycles.
Yaxing’s new EV will be exported to Israel， said Pan.
Since the supercapacitor features quick charging and fast discharging， it means it can only run a short distance after one charge. In this sense， it would be best suited for a bus to recharge at every two or three stops. There’s a long way to go before the supercapacitor can be used in cars， said Pan.
Golden opportunity
This year scientists from the University of California， Los Angeles， have developed highperformance supercapacitors with graphene electrodes， which could pave the way for a new class of flexible energy-storage devices. According to CIConsulting， a Shenzhen- based research company， the latest advancement has made supercapacitors the best option for EV energy storage technology and China’s supercapacitor market will increase more than 30 percent to 3.38 billion yuan （$551 million） by 2016.
Compared with the United States， China still lags behind in research and development of the supercapacitor. “The next few years will witness big progress in supercapacitor technologies and it will also be an important period for the industrialization of EVs，” said Pan.
In fact， most countries have shown their determination to develop EVs， which is also a priority for many global carmakers， including those in China. Data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers showed that out of 120 Chinese carmakers， more than 30 have plans to develop EVs.
EVs have serious performance obstacles to overcome before they will be able to compete with conventional gas cars and only battery innovation can accomplish that goal. This is why Chinese EV makers have cheered the new progress in supercapacitors in the United States.
Although the United States has taken a lead in supercapacitor technologies， China could find a foothold in the bus market.
As of the end of 2012， there had been 27，800 EVs in China， with 80 percent being electric buses. The Beijing Municipal Government plans to have 8，000 electric or hybrid public buses on the streets by 2015—a third of the total number in the capital.
According to the report released by Roland Berger in June， government subsidies for electric mobility are falling in all countries—except China， providing an opportunity to catch up in the long term by leveraging industrial and technological development； the next five years will be crucial.
“In China， we believe that the market will take off in the long run if the government and the industry keep investing，” said John Shen， partner at Roland Berger.
Uncertain future
While carmakers are heartened by the future of EVs， experts are dampening that enthusiasm. In 2008， EVs sprang up at several international auto events and hopes were high that EVs were the near future.
“Five years later， people found that the EV era did not arrive as expected，” said Guan Yunshan， an industry analyst.
In 2009， the State Council planned to have the output of pure electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles reached 500，000 by 2015， accounting for 5 percent of the total number of passenger vehicles. The Ministry of Science and Technology called for pure EV ownership of 2.6 million by 2015. But Beijing is scaling back its ambitions. The annual sales of EVs in China was only 13，000 units in 2012， a trivial share compared to conventional cars.
The United States was no better. Only 50，000 EVs were sold in that country in 2012. A123 Systems， the U.S.-based advanced battery manufacturer for EVs and power grids， declared bankruptcy and was later acquired by Wanxiang， a Chinese industrial group.
California-based Coda Automotive sold only about 100 EVs since its first product hit the U.S. market last year and it recently filed for bankruptcy protection. U.S. electric car company Fisker Automotive Inc. also announced recently that it might go bankrupt if it cannot find new investors soon.
The United States is not an isolated case. Renault and Nissan have together just sold 70，000 electric cars last year， a long way to go to meet their goal of selling 1.5 million units worldwide by 2016.
China’s EV makers are learning that developing the EV industry is a lot tougher than they had hoped. Whether the supercapacitor will rescue the EV industry awaits to be seen.
“Although the government has pledged to subsidize the sector， the effects have not paid off as expected，” said Guan. “The commercialization of EVs is chastened by technological hurdles and lack of buyer interest.”