Ultracapacitor manufacturer Skeleton Technologies has won gold for being the best ‘smart green startup’ in Europe.
Based in Bautzen, Germany, and Tallinn, Estonia, the company claims to be the only manufacturer that uses nanoporous carbide-derived carbon, or ‘curved graphene’, in its ultracapacitor cells.
The material, which was patented when the company launched its SkelCap series ultracapacitors in 2014, has curved graphene layers that allow for better conductivity and a higher surface area.
The graphene boosted the capacitance of the SkelCap 4500 series to 4500 farads.
In March, BEST reported that Skeleton Technologies’ ultracapacitors had been selected by the European Space Agency (ESA) for possible orbit in 2018, where surges of power on satellites and other spacecraft would be needed.
Earlier this year, Skeleton Technologies secured €9.8 million financing from institutional investors to ramp up the deployment of its graphene ultracapacitors.
The EO15 London Award was given out at the Ecosummit 2015 conference this week, where 37 firms were nominated.