The renewable energy industry is undergoing major changes at present and starting to emerge at very high levels. Transient situations between energy sources can cause blackouts due to the energy levels dealt with it and the time it takes to switch from one to another creates disturbances in the power delivery. Ultracapacitors deal with large power densities which can alleviate these disturbances cover the short transition times.
One such organization which is the pioneer in providing advanced Ultracapacitors to the renewable energy industrial space is Skeleton Technologies. The company offers the highest energy density and power density to the ultracapacitor market. It has also been endorsed with the ‘Startup Energy Transition’ award which shows that they are already ahead of the pack for the energy challenges they will be confronting in the future as well.
The Man with Passion and Credibility
Taavi Madiberk, the CEO at Skeleton Technologies is the visionary leader who has a strong capability of anticipating the market needs and finding new applications. He is passionately driven and has the ability to ensure the messages get across internally as well as externally. He constantly comes up with new ideas that can shake the market and can have potentially big impacts on the industry. His father was involved in ultracapacitor research over the last two decades with which Taavi got highly inspired and decided to step-in the sector. In 2016, he was a part of the Forbes’ “30 under 30” which is one of the most selected clubs.
Astounding Services at par with the Industry Standards
Skeleton Technologies was established in 2009 with an aim to produce ultracapacitors with a material that offers the highest potential for progress – Graphene; which has properties that make the use of carbon for ultracapacitors the best possible choice in terms of power and energy density. The porosity or specific surface per gram is reaching its maximum potential due to its nanostructure. “As we progress with the production of our electrode we constantly refine our process to ensure that the most efficient and powerful solutions come out”, says Taavi.
The company’s solutions are already ahead of the industry standards in terms of power and energy density. Its robust team of professionals ensures that they comply with mechanical and electronic standards and other applicable standards. As there are no standards strictly applicable to ultracapacitors, the company has to ensure that what they produce is either better or at least at par with what is available on the market.
Staying Abreast of the Competition
At Skeleton technologies, its team experts are aiming at developing the best ultracapacitors in the world and developing a life-changing company. They strongly believe that they can have a major impact on the climate change. The company is the forerunner in producing the cells with the highest power and energy densities on the market, by using its proprietary material, Curved Graphene. The company is also planning to further increase the energy density by a factor of 2. This will enable them to compete with batteries where batteries start to face a lot of challenges with power density. But this will still remain viable because of their energy density advantage.
While elaborating its battery and ultracapacitors, Taavi says, “The actual cost per kWh is greatly in favor of the battery, but if this cost is considered over the life of the battery or ultracapacitor, the cost per kWh over the lifetime, considering one million cycles or more, becomes favorable to the ultracapacitor. With a higher energy density, this cost will be driven down significantly, and our cells will be in a much stronger market position”
The company believes that what they are doing is already above the competition, for one of its cells using independent testing, they have twice the energy density and four times the power density of its closest competitor. For the customers, this means fewer capacitors required for their applications, and in some cases, no need for extra cooling.
State-of-the-Art Techniques to Achieve High-Efficiency
While asking Taavi about his success mantra, he asserts, “Internally we follow these core values: Get work done – Push Boundaries – Use good judgment. This mantra gives us plenty of freedom to accomplish our goals yet keeps us focused on the direction to aim at and benefits the customer in that we are always striving to deliver quality on time”.
Skeleton’s all production processes are designed to use a minimum amount of chemicals or if possible none at all. This has brought them to a time where no chemicals are used in the manufacturing and support processes of its super-capacitors. The company’s distinctive production processes are automated to achieve high levels of efficiency and yield, thus reducing wastage that would eventually occur.
Foreseeing a Glorious Future with Substantial Visions
Skeleton Technologies has opened the largest ultracapacitor factory in Europe and its R&D team is one of the largest in the world. The company has recently set-up production in its factory in Germany that will allow them to produce up to four million cells per year.
While sharing his views on the future endeavors of the company, Taavi expresses, “The appointments of Scott Jorgensen, a former GM energy solutions researcher and member of USABC, and Thomas Hucke, a global expert in the battery world, shows that we are preparing ourselves for the future of energy storage solutions with a long-term, collaborative, and sustainable view”. He also adds, “We also are expanding our market reach with partnerships in what we see as key markets and applications with Sumitomo and Menestor”.
URL: www.skeletontech.com
Source: The 10 Most Innovative Energy Tech Solution Providers 2018
