For press

Frequently Asked Questions

A list of the most common questions about Skeleton Technologies and our products.

What are supercapacitors?

A supercapacitor is an energy storage medium, just like a battery. The difference is that a supercapacitor stores energy in an electric field, whereas a battery uses a chemical reaction. To find out more, check out our blog post and infographic titled “Ultracapacitors or Batteries?”, where we explain how the differences manifest in real-life use of both technologies.

Can supercapacitors replace batteries?

We get a lot of questions about using supercapacitors instead of batteries in passenger cars or other applications, but unfortunately, it’s not that simple. Yes, supercapacitors have many advantages over batteries such as a significantly longer lifetime, much higher reliability and durability, and high efficiency even in -40°C, but the problem is that batteries and supercapacitors are used for different purposes.

If you need energy for a long time, batteries are usually the most economical solution. For short-term applications, supercapacitors are often the best option. Defining “short-term” is not that simple, however, but as a rule of thumb, you should consider supercapacitors if the application time is 30-45 seconds, usually much less. Our 2nd generation graphene supercapacitors can extend the application time significantly, and the upcoming SuperBattery technology increases even further, competing with high-power batteries.

What’s the difference between ultracapacitors and supercapacitors?

The short answer is that there is no difference. For a longer answer, read our blog post “What’s the Difference between and Ultracapacitor and a Supercapacitor?” If you are wondering about pseudocapacitors, electrochemical double-layer capacitors, and hybrid capacitors, head on over to our blog and have a look at “What is a Pseudocapacitor? – Capacitors Explained” and your questions will hopefully be answered.

What is Curved Graphene?

Curved Graphene is the name we have given to our proprietary raw material, the inorganic pre-cursor material used in Skeleton's supercapacitors. Most companies in the supercapacitor industry use organic pre-cursor materials, such as carbon made from coconuts. You can find more information on our Technology page.