Safety Considerations when Designing Portable
Electronics with Electric Double-Layer
Capacitors (Supercapacitors)
Ginger Walden Jeremiah Stepan
Member, IEEE Member, IEEE
5401 McConnell Ave 5401 McConnell Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90066 Los Angeles, CA 90066
Abstract – Electronic Double-Layer Capacitors (Supercapacitors)
have energy densities that are roughly two orders of magnitude
greater than their traditional capacitor counterparts. The high
charge and discharge rate, long life, low internal resistance, high
output power, and improved energy density of the super caps has
introduced the possibility of these devices being used in portable
electronics. Supercapacitors can be used together with batteries
as a supplemental power source when high bursts of current are
needed, or as a stand-alone power source. As of now, there are
no standards that specifically address safety considerations when
designing electronics that implement supercapacitors. This
paper discusses how we can apply what we already know from
safety standards for rechargeable battery technology and
expounds upon issues specific to capacitor technology that is not
addressed in these standards.
I. INTRODUCTION
Capacitors are theoretically simple devices that can be constructed by
sandwiching an insulator between two conductors. The energy
storage capacity in a parallel plate capacitor follows the equation:
where C is the capacitance, VBR is the breakdown voltage of the
insulation material, A is the surface area of the plates, d is the
thickness of the insulator material, EBR is the breakdown electric field
of the insulator material, and kε is the dielectric constant of the
insulation material. The energy storage density can be improved by
decreasing the thickness of the conductive plates, and by choosing
insulator materials with high breakdown fields and dielectric
constant.1 The high energy density of Electronic Double Layer
Capacitors (EDLC or Supercapacitors) is achieved by increasing the
effective plate area by inserting a layer of carbon dust between each
of the metal plates and the insulator. A liquid electrolyte solution is
used to promote charge attachment to the surface of the grains of
carbon.
Supercapacitors on the market today have achieved up to
100x the energy storage density of their traditional capacitor
counterparts.2 (Energy densities have been demonstrated3 of
approximately 10 Wh/kg). However, the increased storage density
has come at the cost of dramatically decreased charging and
discharging rates, so much so that supercapacitors cannot be used in
60 Hz applications.
978-1-61284-686-6/11/$26.00 ©2011 IEEE
Celina Mikolajczak
Member , IEEE
149 Commonwealth Drive
Menlo Park, CA 94025
The energy storage density of supercapacitors is still 10 to
100 times less than current Li-ion battery technology (practical Li-ion
batteries4 can have energy densities of 200 Wh/kg), but
supercapacitors have the advantage of being tolerant to high charging
and discharging rates, which makes them attractive in some
applications.
Currently applications include power delivery and energy
recovery (regenerative braking applications) in vehicles including
cars, busses, and trains. Supercapacitors are also increasingly being
used in portable electronic devices where the advantage of a quick
recharge is greater than the need for low weight and small form
factor. Supercapacitor powered devices currently on the market
include a screw driver1, flashlight2, and several lamps3.
Supercapacitors can be used together with low rate non-
rechargeable batteries to provide periodic high rate power bursts. For
example, supercapacitors combined with lithium thionyl chloride
primary cells are used in RFID tags, sonar buoys, and utility meters
to provide periodic reporting (via wireless radio transmissions) of
usage data. The primary cell slowly charges the supercapacitor,
which supplies burst power for the data transmission.5
Supercapacitors can also be used in combination with rechargeable
batteries to increase battery life by taking over when high bursts of
electrical power are needed. For example, as cellular telephones with
integrated cameras continue to improve their photo quality,
supercapacitors are expected to provide the high power burst required
to set off the flash (Pitcher, 28 March 2006).
This paper focuses on the situation where supercapacitors
are used in portable electronic devices in place of rechargeable
batteries. As of now, there are no standards that address reliability
and safety considerations when designing portable electronic devices
with supercapacitors as the primary energy storage device. However,
because of some commonality in construction (flammable and
1
The Coleman FlashCell Cordless Screwdriver claims to recharge in 90
seconds and will screw about 22 screws on a single charge in comparison
to 37 screws per charge from a competitor’s product that uses a Li-ion
cell for charge storage according to an online review of the product in
Popular Mechanics dated October 1, 2009.
2
5.11 Tactical currently sells two sizes of LED flashlights powered by
supercapacitors that can be charged in 90 seconds either through a 110
VAC wall outlet or an automobile cigarette outlet.
3
Lamps include a variety of products from solar rechargeable lamps to
bicycle lights.
1
potentially toxic electrolyte that can be vented under some failure
modes) and susceptibility to failure modes such as overcharge and
external short circuit, it seems appropriate to examine standards
applied to lithium-ion (Li-ion) cells for approaches to improving the
safety and reliability of consumer electronic devices that include
supercapacitors. Certainly, supercapacitors differ enough in their
construction and electrical characteristics from Li-ion cells to warrant
a discussion as to what portions of these standards are applicable and
what additional work needs to be done to ensure electronic devices
with supercapacitors are safe and reliable.
II. RELEVANT STANDARDS
In response to reported incidents of Li-ion battery field failures,
two IEEE standards underwent significant revision in the last decade:
IEEE 1725,6 “Standard for Rechargeable Batteries for Cellular
Telephones,” and shortly thereafter IEEE 1625,7 “Standard for
Rechargeable Batteries for Multi-Cell Mobile Computing Devices.”
In the US, the IEEE Standards are voluntary. However, cell phone
carriers, through CTIA (The Wireless Association) have mandated
compliance with IEEE 1725 to their suppliers. IEEE 1725 and 1625
share a great deal in common and will be discussed jointly.
Fundamentally, both standards emphasize that battery pack safety is a
function of a number of interrelated components: the cells, the battery
pack, the host device, the power supply accessories, the user, and the
environment. The IEEE Standards establish that the “…
responsibility for total system reliability is shared between the
designers/manufacturers/suppliers of the subsystems and the end
user.”6 Both standards require a design analysis for a system using
tools such as failure modes and effects analysis (FMEA) or fault tree
analysis. The purpose of this analysis is to “… consider all system
usage scenarios … and the associated affected subsystems.”6 Both
standards attempt to describe and encompass industry best practices
in the areas of cell, pack, system, charging accessory design, and
manufacturing. Both standards require cells and battery packs to
comply with additional requirements such as those in UL 16428, and
recommend testing to UL 20549 and IEC 6213310.
Overcharge Prevention.
Since overcharge can cause energetic failure of Li-ion cells,
both IEEE 1725 and IEEE 1625 addresses overcharge considerations.
According to these standards, it is the responsibility of the cell
manufacturer to specify the upper voltage and current limits of the
cells and it is the responsibility of the battery pack and system
designer(s) to base their design on these specifications. The charging
systems shall be designed to prevent overcharging or exceeding the
maximum allowable charging currents at the cell level. While Li-ion
datasheets include information on maximum allowable charge
current, this data is not listed in most supercapacitor datasheets.
Instead the supercapacitor manufacturers typically list a maximum
voltage and temperature rating and an internal resistance.
In multi-series element Li-ion battery packs (IEEE 1625)
the requirements to limit charging current and voltage at the cell level
means that pack management circuitry must include sensing of the
voltages of each individual series element. Should any series element
limits be exceeded, the protection electronics must act to disable or
otherwise control charging. These requirements reflect industry
experience with differential aging of cells within single battery packs.
Although when new and installed in a battery pack, Li-ion cell
capacities should be well matched such that individual series element
voltages should not diverge significantly during charge or discharge,
cell capacity degradation is not always uniform. Thus, after time in
2
the field, Li-ion cell capacity can become sufficiently divergent to
result in overcharging of weak series elements, while overall pack
voltages remain within a normal range. The use of individual series
element voltage sensing allows battery pack electronics to
appropriately disable charging when any single series element
reaches its voltage limit. It is highly likely that supercapacitors in
series applications, like Li-ion cells, will be subject to divergence of
capacity with aging. Thus individual element voltage sensing for
supercapacitor series strings should be strongly considered. Work
has been done to create new and evaluate existing capacitor balancing
schemes in applications where long strings of capacitors are
connected in series to achieve high voltages (such as regenerative
braking).11 12 13 14 15 Such an analysis could be beneficial for small
series stacks that would be used in portable electronic applications.
Both IEEE 1625 and IEEE1725 require redundant
overcharge protection of cells or series elements. At least one of
these protection functions must be included at the cell or pack level.
These requirements reflect experience with failures of individual
protection devices in Li-ion battery packs.
The voltage limitation of a Li-ion cell is based on the
stability of the electrochemical system itself: under overcharge
conditions, cathode materials can change phase exothermically,
lithium can plate onto anode surfaces forming dendrites that cause
shorting, and cell electrolyte can degrade exothermically. All of
these mechanisms can lead to energetic thermal runaway reactions
and venting of electrolyte in Li-ion cells. As a result, many Li-ion
cell designs include built-in mechanisms to prevent overcharge.
Overcharge can lead to significant gas generation within a cell prior
to the cell entering a thermal runaway condition. In prismatic form
factors, and particularly in cells with thin cases or with soft-pouch
cells, gas generation within the cell will result in cell swelling and
may force electrodes apart, effectively curtailing the transfer of ions
and interrupting charging. The geometry of cylindrical cells prevents
separation of electrodes if gas generation occurs. Cell designers have
developed mechanical current interrupt devices (CIDs) for cylindrical
cells used in consumer electronic devices. On activation, CIDs
physically and irreversibly disconnect the cell from the circuit. Due
to their design, traditional CIDs may not be applicable to very high
rate cells such as those used in power tools, because the traditional
CID design will not allow transfer of very high currents. Pack level
overvoltage protection elements include charge FET’s controlled by
battery management circuitry that monitors cell voltages, and
chemical fuses that can be tripped by battery management circuitry if
out of range conditions persist.
The energy stored in the supercapacitor is roughly
proportional to the voltage squared. Capacitors have a voltage
limitation which is based on the thickness and dielectric strength of
the insulator material as well as tolerable stresses on the carbon and
electrolyte mixture. It is important to note that the charging time is
significantly less and the charging currents are significantly greater
for supercapacitors than for Li-ion cells. Therefore some over-
current and over-voltage protective schemes that are appropriate for
Li-ion cells may not be appropriate for supercapacitors. Nonetheless,
the concept of redundant overcharge protection should be applied.
External Short Circuit Prevention.
IEEE 1725 sections 5.2.1 and 6.4 state that the output current of a Li-
ion battery shall be limited by a separator shutdown mechanism and
one other mechanism integrated into the battery pack. Li-ion cells
are constructed with a permeable separator material that allows ionic
current to flow within the cell during charge and discharge. When
the cell temperature increases to abusive conditions the separator
becomes electrically resistive and limits short circuit current. This
separator shutdown mechanism results in a permanent failure of the Hund et. al (3) showed that 2.7 V, 3,500 F supercapacitors which use
affected cell. acetonitrile as the electrolyte solvent did not autoignite under
The dielectric material in a supercapacitor functions in a overvoltage or overtemperature conditions, but electrolyte material
fundamentally different manner to that of the separator in a Li-ion was vented when the capacitors were charged to approximately 3.7 V
cell. The dielectric material in a supercapacitor is an impermeable with an 80 A charge current or subjected to overtemperature
insulator. Unlike a Li-ion battery, charging and discharging of a conditions between 106 and 131 °C. Vented electrolyte did ignite
supercapacitor does not depend on the flow of ions through the when an external ignition spark was applied during these tests.
separator material. Therefore the dielectric material in a Acetonitrile is considered a moderate toxin: NFPA gives
supercapacitor does not limit current during an external short circuit. acetonitrile a toxicity hazard rating of 2 on a scale of 0 to 4 with 4
Many Li-ion cell configurations such as the 18650 cylindrical being the most hazardous. Acetonitrile is easily absorbed into the
form factor often also contain a positive temperature coefficient body. Once in the body, the solvent can be metabolized to produce
(PTC) resistor integrated into the cap assembly of the cell. High rate hydrogen cyanide. Target organs include the respiratory system,
discharges can cause heating of cells, in some cases to the point of cardiovascular system, central nervous system, liver, and kidneys.
damaging internal components such as the separator, and can lead to The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
cell thermal runaway. PTC devices, also called resettable thermistor recommends a time weighted average (TWA) exposure limit that
devices, or “polyswitches” are common components of commercial should not be exceeded for full workdays (8 or 10 hours) and full
cells (e.g., part of the cap assembly of 18650 commercial cells) or workweeks for a 40 year period of 20 ppm (REL TWA of 20 ppm).
commercial battery packs (placed in the circuits of battery packs The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
designed with prismatic cells). These devices include a conductive permissible exposure limit (PEL)4 for acetonitrile is a TWA of 40 ppm.
polymer layer that becomes very resistive above some threshold NIOSH recommends an “immediately dangerous to life and health”
temperature. PTC devices are selected to remain conductive within (IDLH) limit5 of 500 ppm.
specified current and temperature conditions. However, should Other common components of supercapacitor electrolytes include
discharge (or charge) current become excessive, the polymer will fluorinated compounds such as tetraethyl ammonium tetrafluoroborate
heat and become highly resistive, greatly reducing current from (to) (CAS# 429-06-1). Tetraethyl ammonium tetrafluoroborate is a salt that
the cell. Once the PTC device cools, it again becomes conductive. can cause respiratory, eye, and skin irritation. Its toxicological
PTC devices are not always applicable to high current Li-ion properties have not been fully investigated and neither NIOSH nor
cells (e.g., power tool cells). It is also impractical to integrate a PTC OSHA has established exposure limits for this compound. However,
directly onto a supercapacitor due to the large currents that are this compound is hydroscopic (it absorbs moisture from air) and if it
typically experienced and the fact that PTCs take several seconds to decomposes (for example if heated in a fire) if may form hydrogen
trip after the initiation of a short circuit. However, in applications fluoride gas and oxides of boron.
where charging is rapid, but discharge currents are low, a PTC
located within the discharge circuit could be useful. Although IV. FAILURE MODE TESTS
different forms of short-circuit protection may prove more practical
in supercapacitor applications compared to Li-ion applications, the Overcharge and Short Circuit experiments were performed
concept of redundant protection remains broadly applicable. on a 300 F supercapacitor, an 18650 Li-ion cell, and a Li-polymer
cell. The supercapacitor has nearly the same volume as the 18650 Li-
ion cell, and has 27% of the capacity of the smaller Li-polymer cell.
III. HEALTH AND FIRE SAFETY CONSIDERATIONS The associated energy storage capacity, volume, and voltage rating of
each of these test units is given in Table I.
Aside from no longer functioning as intended, hazards introduced due
to capacitor failure include health risks and fire risks associated with Table I. Test Unit Data – Datasheet
vented electrolyte. Hard case capacitors (and Li-ion cells) are
normally sealed units. However, they are designed to vent in a
Super- 18650 Li-
controlled manner if internal pressures rise abnormally. Vents are a Li Polymer
capacitor ion
safety feature to prevent uncontrolled rupture of cases that could
result in the generation of dangerous projectiles. Venting of Rated Capacity 300 F 2600 mAh 220 mAh
supercapacitors (as with Li-ion cells) can be caused by various
Nominal Voltage 2.3 V 3.7 V 3.6 V
thermal, mechanical, and electrical abuse modes. As with Li-ion
cells, typical supercapacitor electrolyte components are considered Capacity in Wh 0.22 Wh 9.62 Wh 0.83 Wh
flammable and toxic, and contact with these components should be 3 3 3
avoided. Approximate Volume 16.5 cm 17.1 cm 2.8 cm
One common component of supercapacitor electrolytes is Weight 26.3 g 47.1 g 5.1 g
acetonitrile CH3-CN, also known as methyl-cyanide (CAS# 75-05-8).
This solvent has a flash point (lowest temperature at which the Standard Charge Current N/A 0.52 A 165 mA
material can vaporize to form an ignitable mixture in air) of 5.5 °C.16 Rapid Discharge Current N/A 1.3 A 220 mA
This low flashpoint indicates that the material will vaporize readily in
air and produce a mixture that can be ignited under most ambient
conditions. The flammable range for acetonitrile in air is similar to
that of many hydrocarbons: it will burn at concentrations ranging
from approximately 3% to 16% in air.17 Acetonitrile has an NFPA
flammability hazard rating of 3 on a scale of 0 to 4 with 4 being the 4
most hazardous. Therefore, if released and mixed with air, A PEL is an airborne concentration limit that one can be exposed to 8 hours
a day, 40 hours a week, for 40 years without adverse effect.
acetonitrile could be ignited by nearby sparks or hot surfaces, both of
5
which are commonly associated with consumer electronics failures. IDLH concentration assumes exposure over a 30 minute timeframe.

3

Overcharge Test.
An experiment was preformed to demonstrate the failure of the
300 F supercapacitor due to an overcharge condition. The Capacitor
was charged at a constant current of 10. 2 A to a voltage beyond the
rated voltage and forced to failure. Current, voltage, and external
case temperature were monitored during testing. The canister bottom
end ruptured and vented due to the overvoltage condition and smoke
was produced, but there was no fire during the forced failure. The
current, voltage, and external case temperature for the experiment are
plotted in Figure 1.
indication that an internal discharge was taking place within the
capacitor.
The power supply was turned back on at 4 minutes, causing the
temperature of the capacitor to increase further. At approximately 5
minutes, the temperature reached 160 °C and the supercapacitor
insulator material broke down. The voltage began to climb as the
capacitor failed short circuit. The power supply voltage limit was set
to 9 V, which caused the charge current to fall and the capacitor
voltage to plateau at the 5 minute mark. The power supply was
turned off after 5 minutes 45 seconds.
External Short Circuit Test.
An experiment was performed in which all test units were fully
charged and then allowed to discharge through a low resistance path.
The short circuit connection was made by pressing the ends of a 12
cm length of 12 gauge solid copper wire to the contacts of each test
unit. Short circuit currents through the wire were monitored by a
Tektronix A622 AC/DC inductive current probe plugged into a
Tektronix TDS 3014B digital oscilloscope.
Figure 2 shows plots of the short circuit currents for each test
unit during the experiment. The voltage and impedance of each test
unit was measured before and after the short using a Hioki 3555
battery HiTester and is recorded in Table II.

Figure 1. Current, voltage, and external case temperature plotted for

the overvoltage experiment.

According to the manufacturer’s datasheet, the rated maximum

voltage of the supercapacitor was 2.3 V with a surge voltage of 2.5 V,
and the rated operational temperature range was -25 °C to +60 °C.
The supercapacitor had an initial voltage of 0.64 V. At 32 seconds,
the current from the power supply output was turned on, providing a
constant current output of 10.2 A. The supercapacitor voltage
increased quickly and reached 2.3 V at 1 minute 4 seconds. The
temperature remained steady at 23 °C until the rated voltage was
reached. As the capacitor continued to charge beyond the rated
voltage, the temperature began to rise and the voltage increased Figure 2. Short circuit currents of test units.
linearly until a 4 V plateau was reached. At this voltage plateau, 10.2
A of current was continuously drawn from the power supply but the Table II. Test Unit Data – Short Circuit Test
voltage across the capacitor did not increase. Instead, the energy
from the charging current was converted into heat and the Super- 18650 Li- Polymer
temperature of the external capacitor housing increased. capacitor ion Li-ion
The capacitor vented after approximately 2 minutes 40 seconds,
at which point the capacitor voltage dipped to 3.3 V. During venting, Peak Short Circuit Current 108 A* 64 A 37 A
the liquid electrolyte and carbon dust slurry oozed from a crack
Voltage Before Test 2.32 V 4.10 V 4.10 V
around the negative contact end of the cell which was also emitting
thick grey-colored smoke. Impedance Before Test 10 mΩ 49.5 mΩ 83.1 mΩ
The power supply current was switched off briefly at 3 minutes
Voltage After Test 1.42 V 4.09 V 4.08 V
50 seconds to observe the charge holding capability of the capacitor
in its vented state. The voltage dropped to 2.46 V when the current Impedance After Test 11 mΩ 51.5 mΩ 77.2 mΩ
was removed, indicating that the capacitor had incurred damage *The current probe is rated to measure currents up to 100 A.
resulting in a series resistance. The voltage decayed further to 2.3 V
during the 8 seconds that the power supply was turned off, a likely

4
 When the supercapacitor was initially shorted, there was a sharp
peak in current. The supercapacitor had a very low internal
resistance, so it was theoretically possible that the current through the
short would reach a peak of 200 A or more. The current probe used
in this experiment was rated to measure up to only 100 A; therefore
the actual peak current through the short circuit was likely greater
than what was measured in this test setup. The charge within the
supercapacitor resided on the metal capacitor plates as well as in the
activated carbon material. The initial current spike came from highly
mobile charge on the metal plates. Once this charge was removed,
the current dropped as the less mobile charge in the carbon active
layer travelled outwards toward the plates. Seconds after the short
circuit test, the voltage of the capacitor recovered to approximately
1.4 V. The total calculated energy loss was 500 J or 139 mWh after
approximately 7 seconds of short circuit discharge.
When the 18650 Li-ion cell was initially shorted, the peak
recorded current was 64 A. Theoretically, the maximum short circuit
current was limited to less than 83 A due to internal cell resistance.
Initially the current fell slowly due to limitations on the rate diffusion
of lithium ions within the cell. The 18650 Li-ion cell was built with
an internal positive temperature coefficient (PTC) current limiter.
Approximately 0.4 seconds after the initiation of the short circuit, the
current began to fall off due to the PTC heating and limiting current.
The initial peak short circuit current recorded for the
polymer Li-ion cell was 37 A. Theoretically, the peak current was
limited to less than 49 A due to internal cell resistance. The Li-
polymer cell is not built with a PTC integrated into the pouch, and the
battery management unit (BMU) printed circuit board (PCB) was
removed for this testing, therefore the observed current decay after
the initial short was due to limitations on the rate diffusion of lithium
ions within the cell.
V. SUMMARY AND DISCUSSION
In applications where Electronic Double Layer Capacitors are used
for primary energy storage in portable electronic devices, design
standards developed for Li-ion batteries (IEEE 1625 and 1725) can
 Vehicle
 Power
 and
 Propulsion
be applied to some extent. In this paper we’ve addressed some areas
 (VPPC),
 Harbin,
 China,
 Sep.
 2008.
where the differences between Li-ion cells and supercapacitors
necessitate the development of a new standard, or a change in the
current treatment of supercapacitors to fall in line with these
standards.
The electrolyte from both Li-ion cells and supercapacitors
is flammable and toxic when absorbed through the skin. Experiments
suggest that it is unlikely that an overcharged supercapacitor will
autoignite. However, a shorted capacitor can generate a spark, and
thus it remains possible for vented electrolyte to ignite and result in a
fire hazard. Analysis and testing of multi-capacitor systems is
beyond the scope of this paper but worthy of future discussion.
The ability of the capacitor to charge and discharge quickly
increases the difficulty of designing protective circuitry to prevent
capacitor overcharge and high short circuit currents. The available
fault current from a supercapacitor is inherently high due to low
internal resistance, but the current falls to a level comparable to the
18650 Li-ion cell short circuit current within 10 milliseconds.
Inherently, the current must be limited from a Li-ion cell in order to
prevent the cell from going into a thermal runaway condition.
Thermal runaway with a supercapacitor during short circuit is not
concern, so the safety issue becomes the system’s vulnerability to
high current faults.
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