Can capacitors in electrical circuits provide large-scale energy storage?

Capacitors are widely used in electrical circuits to store small amounts of energy, but have never been used for large-scale energy storage. Now researchers from Japan have shown that the right combination of resistors and capacitors can allow electrical circuits to meet two key requirements of an energy storage device: quick charging and long-term discharging. Using capacitors as energy storage devices in circuits has potential applications for hybrid electric vehicles, backup power supplies, and alternative energy storage.

The researchers, Prof. Mikio Fukuhara, Tomoyuki Kuroda, and Prof. Fumihiko Hasegawa, at Tohoku University in Sendai, Japan, have published their paper in a recent issue of Applied Physics Letters.