IEC Developing Technical Standard for Supercapacitors for Hybrids

5 March 2008

A project team (PT 62576) that is part of  IEC Technical Committee (TC) 69 is developing a new technical standard for electric double-layer capacitors (supercapacitors) for use in hybrid electric vehicles. TC 69 is the IEC committee tasked with preparing international standards for road vehicles, totally or partly electrically propelled from self-contained power sources, and for electric industrial trucks.

The team plans to circulate the draft standard on these capacitors for public comment in the fourth quarter of this year, with the finalized standard scheduled for publication in some 12 months later. The IEC is a Geneva-based international standards setting body responsible for standards covering all electrical, electronic and related technologies, which works closely with its sister organization, ISO, in the development of standards for the motor industry.

Although the energy density of capacitors is quite low compared to batteries, their excellent power characteristics are their main value—providing ‘bursts’ of electric energy that can help these new generation of cars to accelerate at comparable or better rates than traditional petrol-only engine vehicles, while achieving a significantly reduced fuel consumption.

—Dr. Peter Van den Bossche, IEC project leader from the Erasmus University College in Brussels, Belgium

IEC is a not-for-profit, non-governmental organization comprising 147 countries that develops international standards for all electrical, electronic and related technologies. It was founded in 1906 with British scientist Lord Kelvin as its first president.