Modern societies require a large abundance of materials. Whether arising as naturally-occurring or synthetic, the entire life cycle of a material - extraction, processing, design, engineering, innovation, selection, use and disposal of materials can bring a significant impact on the economy, environment, human health and quality of life. Therefore, materials life cycle directly affects the cost-benefit ratio, which dictates its success in the market.
Among the different occurring materials, some are simply forbidden to be used because they are toxic. Perhaps the most well known examples are the metals mercury, lead and cadmium. The use of these material is now very restricted because of its toxicity, however, still today, a great exemption exists for Lead to the fabrication of Lead-acid batteries because of lack of alternative technologies in applications like engine starting and backup power.
The aim of the Hycap project is to introduce to the market a supercapacitor module capable to replace or to drastically reduce the use of lead-acid batteries, while keeping its easier installation and use for rapid mainstream adoption.
To achieve this we have developed Go-Start, a supercapacitor module with proprietary technology that will target one of the most impactful applications in terms of consumption of lead: Engine starting in vehicles. Lead-acid batteries are used today in practically every vehicle, but because of its short life cycle it brings significant costs due to regular replacement.
The overall objectives of Hycap are therefore to introduce Go-Start to the market, validate the win-win situation for society and businesses, and scale-up the production for market entry.
