Faster and more stable, Lamborghini builds supercapacitors for electric vehicles

There is more to new energy than just electricity, and more to electricity than just batteries in cars. To break through people's stereotypes about new energy vehicles, Lamborghini and MIT collaborated to create a supercapacitor for electric vehicles.

Supercapacitors are more stable and have a higher capacity than current battery technology. MIT and Lamborghini began working together on supercapacitors three years ago. The technology has already been used in some limited edition models, and now engineers are working hard to make it continue to develop and compete with existing battery technology.

Although not as widely used as battery technology, supercapacitors have obvious advantages. They can charge and discharge faster and provide greater energy density, which means they can provide more capacity in the same volume. Lamborghini's patent application shows that the energy density is increased by 100% over existing technology.

The patent application specifically concerns what Lamborghini and MIT call a "metal-organic framework." Lamborghini says this is a material that is well suited for supercapacitor electrodes. According to Lamborghini, materials made up of these molecules have a large surface area, which means they can hold more charge.

Lamborghini has already introduced supercapacitors in limited use in the Sián hybrid system. The supercapacitors provide power to a small electric motor that can only drive at low speeds. The electric motor only provides a small part of the Sián's 819 horsepower output, and the rest comes from a V12 engine. Only 63 Siáns have been produced so far, and they were all sold out as soon as they were released, but this is more of a test of the supercapacitors than a formal production launch.

The latest Lamborghini Aventador is expected to feature a hybrid powertrain, so it's possible the car will use supercapacitors instead of batteries. Lamborghini is also expected to launch its first electric car in 2025. But the model will reportedly be based on the Volkswagen Group's electric vehicle platform, so it will use traditional lithium-ion battery technology like the Porsche Taycan and Audi E-Tron GT.

Lamborghini used to be famous for its excellent performance sports cars, but they are not satisfied with this and have set their sights on new technologies. In addition to supercapacitors, the automaker has also experimented with new materials. They have studied a material called Terzo Millenio that can self-recover and store electricity, and have sent carbon fiber samples to the International Space Station for related experiments.

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Under the premise that there is no breakthrough in existing battery technology, trying some new technologies may have an impact on the current dilemma of electric vehicles. Lamborghini has done a good job in this regard. Supercapacitors are much better than battery technology, but compared with the mature battery industry, it is too difficult to actually produce and promote them. However, the emergence of this technology is of great significance to the development of the current electric vehicle market.