Supercapacitor UPS solutions


Supercapacitor based UPS solutions have a variety of benefits. They are long-life, more environment friendly and can withstand harder conditions than solutions based on Batteries.

Supercapacitors became popular in the last few years. Aspects like long life, high cycle-life and temperature resistance make them interesting for applications where a reliable voltage source is required.

Batteries vs. Ultracapacitors/Supercapacitors

Conclusion of Batteries vs. Ultracapacitors / Supercapacitors:

  • Most important advantages from Supercapacitors in compare to Batteries:
    • much higher lifetime
    • higher power density (can be charged and discharged with higher currents)
    • usable at lower temperatures
    • usable at higher temperatures
    • much higher cycle-life
    • much simpler handling (no rules for placing on stock or shipping)
  • The biggest (and only) advantage of Batterien in compare to Supercapacitors is the higher energy density
Requirement Battery Supercapacitor
Cycle life
 Low (≤ 1 k)
 High (≥ 500 k)
Lifetime Medium to low (~ 5 years)
 High (> 10 years)
Time to charge Slow Extremely fast
Holding on stock
 Not recommended, special and laborious handling required
 Unproblematic, nothing needs to be considered
Stored energy (energy density) High Low
Power (power density) Medium High
Low temperatures Power output drastically reduced (ESR increases drastically)
Capacity is reduced		 Power output after some time reduced (ESR increases)
High temperatures In long term, the cycle life is reduced (to an even deeper value) Capacity decreases after longer time at high temperatures
Deep discharge
 Capacity lowers and probably even a safety risk Unproblematic down to 0 V, no negative impact
Transport/International shipping Very strict regulations have to be considered Unproblematic, no handling restrictions

Note: Depending on battery type, the above specifications can slightly differ. The lifetime of Supercapacitors can even be increased when used correctly.