CIE Components in Electronics
Maxwell Technologies has announced a joint development agreement with Corning Incorporated, the aim of which is to advance the state of capacitive energy storage technology by addressing the challenges frequently cited by ultra-capacitor customers, including energy density, lifetime, operating environment, form factor and cost.
Maxwell will bring its expertise in ultra-capacitor cell design, manufacturing processes and market-leading capacitive energy storage product designs to the agreement, while Corning has expertise in high-performance materials, analytical capabilities and technology innovations. Corning has a long history of serving the transportation industry with emissions control products for the automotive and heavy-duty truck markets that will complement Maxwell’s growing presence in providing energy storage solutions for these application spaces.
“Corning has invested significant time and resources to establish this new business initiative because we see great potential in capacitive energy storage. Our agreement brings us together to accelerate the pace of innovation,” said Doug Harshbarger, business director of emerging automotive innovations at Corning Incorporated.
“Joining forces with a company of Corning’s quality and strength promises to be a game-changing event for Maxwell,” said Dr. Franz Fink, Maxwell’s president and chief executive officer. “We believe that this alliance will create tremendous value for customers and will move the competitive bar much higher in the years ahead.”
Unlike batteries, which produce and store energy by means of a chemical reaction, ultra-capacitors store energy in an electric field. This electrostatic energy storage mechanism enables ultra-capacitors to charge and discharge in as little as fractions of a second, perform normally over a broad temperature range (-40°C to +65°C), operate reliably through one million or more charge/discharge cycles and resist shock and vibration. Maxwell offers ultra-capacitor cells ranging in capacitance from one to 3,400 farads and multi-cell modules ranging from 12 to 160 volts.
