One of the underlying challenges of the widespread use of artificial intelligence technology is the energy required to power its processing. Data centers are springing up across the country. These climate-controlled warehouses of computing technology are putting unprecedented strain on the energy grid as users query AI-driven search engines, large language models and generative AI systems.
By some estimates, the demand from AI data centers could account for as much as 12% of domestic energy consumption by 2028.
The challenging facing grid operators is not just the volume of energy needed; it’s also the velocity at which it’s being demanded. Blackouts or brownouts occur when the energy supply falls short of covering a demand surge. These tend to happen around extreme weather events — when oppressive summer heat causes an entire region to turn up the air conditioning in short order, for example.
Temporary shortfalls like these disrupted power across the U.S. for an average about five and a half hours in 2022. But the U.S. Department of Energy projects that with new demand from data centers, outages could double by 2030 if steps are not taken to address the strain on the grid.
Experts suggest that growing demand may incentivize providers to integrate more renewable energy sources into the grid. But meeting demand spikes quickly enough to stave off an outage will likely require a technological shift as well.
The Department of Energy estimates that the market for supercapacitors will increase by 30% over the next four years, in part because of their use in rapid energy delivery. The devices are a lesser-known cousin of the battery, but what they may lack in name recognition, they amply make up for when it comes to supplying power in a pinch.
Regenerative brakes in electric and hybrid vehicles, laptop and smartphone backup power supplies, and digital camera flashes all depend on supercapacitors. And because they can quickly take in and churn out energy, grid operators around the world are increasingly turning to them to smooth out the erratic surges of both solar and wind production and data center demand. To better understand how these devices work and why they could play a central role in the future of grid-level energy storage and distribution, the News Blog tapped the expertise of Yury Gogotsi, PhD, Distinguished University and Bach chair professor in the College of Engineering. Gogotsi is a renowned materials scientist who studies nanomaterials, some of which are being used to improve supercapacitor technology.
Why do data centers pose a unique challenge for the power grid?
Data centers use huge amounts of electricity and can very suddenly increase or decrease their energy demand. This makes it hard for the power grid to keep supply and demand balanced in real time.
Why do batteries struggle to keep up with spikes in power demand from data centers?
Batteries are good at storing energy, but they are slow to respond to sudden changes. Large power spikes happen in less than a second, and batteries can’t react fast enough or deliver power instantly at that scale.
What’s the difference between a supercapacitor and a battery?
Batteries store energy by loading up an electrode material immersed in an electrolyte solution with electrons and releasing them when devices – or data centers, in this case – need to use energy.
Supercapacitors are designed for short-term energy storage and rapid energy discharge. They store electrons on the surface of sponge-like electrodes, releasing usable energy quickly.
You can think of a battery like a giant tank of water with a small spigot. If you want to fill a bunch of water glasses over a long period of time, this setup is probably okay. But if you need a lot of water very quickly — maybe to put out a fire — you’d probably want a burst from a fire hose.
Where would someone most likely encounter a supercapacitor?
You might not notice them, but they’re used in many electronic devises that we use every day, including things like:
- Camera flashes or quick power bursts in portable electronic devices, backup power supplies in electronics that briefly keep memory alive when the battery is dead.
- Uninterrupted power supply (UPS) systems that stabilize voltage for computers, servers, research and manufacturing instruments.
- Regenerative braking systems in electric and hybrid vehicles, buses, trams and trains — Philadelphia’s SEPTA public transit system installed a supercapacitor system more than a decade ago.
How might supercapacitors help the energy grid respond more efficiently to surges in demand?
They can instantly release power when demand suddenly spikes, helping stabilize the grid until slower systems, such as battery back-ups, or power plants can catch up. This will minimize the brownouts and short blackouts we all experience, especially during summer thunderstorms or on hot days when air conditioning demand puts too much stress on the grid.
So, when there is a sudden surge in demand, from a data center, for example, supercapacitors could be used first to provide an instant response — like opening a valve to relieve the pressure. Then the supply could be provided by batteries and power plants, depending on the duration of the elevated demand. This would allow the system to remain stable and avert blackouts or service disruptions.
Are there other advantages to integrating supercapacitors in the grid?
Yes, in addition to their speedy discharge capabilities, supercapacitors can also be fully charged in minutes. And they are quite durable — they can survive a million charge-discharge cycles, which is longer than the lifetime of many energy storage devices.
What are the challenges slowing the adoption of supercapacitors in the energy grid?
There are a few things that have historically slowed or deterred the use of supercapacitors.
By comparison to batteries, supercapacitors cannot store energy for long periods of time. They will self-discharge within days or weeks, which requires recharging, or keeping them connected to a battery or another energy source.
They can be expensive to install on a large scale. This is mostly a result of the fact that they have not historically been manufactured in high volumes, like batteries are. The price of lithium-ion batteries decreased by two orders of magnitude over the past four decades due to enormous manufacturing volumes and efforts to optimize processes. So as manufacturing of supercapacitors increases, we are likely to see their prices come down as well.
Integrating supercapacitors with existing grid systems can be complex. By contrast to batteries, which provide energy at a constant voltage, supercapacitors need an assist from power electronics technology to stabilize their voltage when they’re being used.
What are the advantages of supercapacitors over batteries when it comes to sourcing the materials to make them?
Supercapacitors often use more common and less scarce materials, like porous carbons, including carbide-derived carbons and graphene; while batteries rely on metals like lithium and cobalt, which are harder to source and their mining raises environmental concerns.
My lab has also conducted research on using new nanomaterials, like MXenes, to make supercapacitors. These materials could enable the devices to harvest energy from fast processes, like a decelerating train or car, a gantry crane lowering a container, or a piezoelectric and triboelectric power generator.
I think we are likely to see exciting new developments with supercapacitors as they become more widely used.
Reporters interested in speaking with Gogotsi should contact Britt Faulstick, executive director, News & Media Relations at bef29@drexel.edu.
