<i>"The test results from the new polymers suggest that extremely high energy density supercapacitors could be constructed in the very new future."</i> Not "We have a demo model working". More on the actual chemistry, from 2017.[1] Seems they announced this before, in June 2017.<p>Even if this doesn't turn into a big energy storage thing, maybe they can replace ordinary electrolytic capacitors. Least reliable component in electronics.<p>[1] <a href="https://chemical-materials.elsevier.com/new-materials-applications/ultracapacity-polymeric-supercapacitors-viable-alternatives-batteries/" rel="nofollow">https://chemical-materials.elsevier.com/new-materials-applic...</a>
The 2018 version of this is <a href="https://www.surrey.ac.uk/mediacentre/press/2018/alternative-traditional-batteries-moves-step-closer-reality-after-exciting" rel="nofollow">https://www.surrey.ac.uk/mediacentre/press/2018/alternative-...</a><p>I'm not sure why the 2016 release was posted instead.
They claim 4F / cm² between smooth surfaces, which seems impossibly high. Even if the dielectric is only 5 Å thick, that corresponds to a dielectric constant of 2.2e6. The highest dielectric constants materials I know of are around 2e4.
More details at <a href="https://www.theengineer.co.uk/supercapacitors-battery-technologies/" rel="nofollow">https://www.theengineer.co.uk/supercapacitors-battery-techno...</a> -- hard to find an actual paper, though