Lamborghini, MIT patent supercapacitor technology
A slice of the technology at the core of the Lamborghini Sian has been patented, as MIT and Lamborghini look to leverage it in future hypercars.
Lamborghini and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have patented a part of the super capacitor technology underpinning the Sian hypercar.
Where most conventional hybrid and electric vehicles use nickel-metal hydride or lithium-ion batteries to power their electric motors, Lamborghini and MIT turned to super capacitors for the Sian.
Unlike a conventional battery, which is designed to store large amounts of energy and discharge it more gradually, a super capacitor relies on electrostatics to discharge its power more rapidly.
The patent relates specifically to a material synthesised by Professor Mircea Dinca from the MIT Chemistry Department, based on the 'Metal-Organic Frameworks' concept.
According to Lamborghini, the material makes the most of its surface area to deliver better energy density – up to 100 per cent better than is currently available, according to the company.
Lamborghini also says the technology is also a significant step forward from the technology used in the Sian hypercar, which itself is designed to be on the bleeding-edge of what's available.
"The molecular structure of this family of materials makes it the ideal candidate for producing electrodes for high performance super capacitors of the future, because it maximises the... the amount of surface area exposed to electric charge in relation to the mass and volume of the sample," the company says.
Stefano Domenicali, Lamborghini chairman and CEO, says the "joint research with MIT fully embodies our values and our vocation for anticipating the future: a future in which hybridisation is increasingly desirable and inevitably necessary".
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