supercapacitors

UltraBattery developed to drive hybrid cars to the next level

Take one part supercapacitor, one part lead acid battery -- the old school kind -- and you've got an energy cell technology development that at least one power research geek is calling "a leap forward for low emission transport and uptake of [hybrid cars]." Speciously dubbed the UltraBattery by its developers at Australia's CSIRO, this new cell type features a life cycle increase of 4x and power increase of 2x over current batteries, yet is supposedly 70% less expensive than the ancient Ni-MH cells often used in hybrids today. It's even passed "the 100,000 mile mark," implying the UltraBattery is robust enough to roll out to consumer vehicles without fear of drain on capacity. Screw the hybrids though, bring on the plug-in all-electrics, UltraBattery or otherwise.[Thanks, Dickey]