'Super capacitor' could be key to future transport

A Tianjin-based research team has developed an energy storage device on a par with the "energon cube" seen in the Transformers cartoon series. It enables a bus to run 200 kilometers after only a 10-minute charge.

The device, known as a high-performance nickel-carbon super capacitor, is a combination of battery and capacitor, according to lead researcher Zhou Guotai, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.

It looks similar to rechargeable battery cells, but has much higher power density due to a double layer of honeycombed active carbon and electrolyte that provides a larger surface area to generate electricity.