Are supercapacitors catching up with batteries, we wondered, after our first reading of an announcement by Monash University in Australia. Researchers there claim a major breakthrough, in the race to build energy storage devices that are fast and powerful. Could a new type of carbon-based material achieve both goals simultaneously?
Lining Up and Comparing Supercapacitors and Batteries
Supercapacitors store energy through electrostatic charges. While batteries store energy through chemical reactions. Batteries can store more power than supercapacitors, but the latter can store and deliver it much faster.
But that’s not where the competition ends. Supercapacitors have a longer cycle life than any battery, and better round-trip efficiency too. We could take a huge leap forward for electric vehicles and battery energy storage, if we could blend the two together!
Monash University Catches Up With the Challenge
Monash University made an announcement on September 16 2025, in a communication we link to below. They report a novel carbon-based material they developed. It enables a supercapacitor to store as much energy as a lead-acid battery. And then deliver it much faster than any conventional battery could.
Supercapacitors currently store energy on a fraction of the surface area of a carbon-based material. The Monash team has learned how to enlarge that area using a novel heat-treatment method.
“This discovery could allow us to build fast-charging supercapacitors, that store enough energy to replace batteries in many applications,” remarks Professor Mainak Majumder. The head of the research unit adds “and deliver it far more quickly too”.
The key to their success is in their ability to synthesize “multiscale reduced graphene oxide” from graphite, which is abundant in Australia. The team used “a rapid thermal annealing process to create a curved structure, with precise pathways for ions to move quickly and efficiently.”
This unique method delivers high energy density and high power density simultaneously, which is a world first. So yes, we finally do have hard evidence of supercapacitors catching up with batteries.
More Information
Supercapacitors and Batteries Head to Head
Concrete and Carbon Black Supercapacitors
Preview Image: Cycling Supercapacitors and Batteries
