4x energy at 482°F: New polymer capacitor targets EVs, data centers

Penn State researchers have developed a novel high-temperature polymer capacitor capable of operating at temperatures up to 482°F (250°C) while storing four times more energy than conventional polymer capacitors. This advancement addresses a critical limitation of existing capacitors, which typically degrade above 212°F (100°C), restricting their use in high-heat environments such as electric vehicles, data centers, aerospace systems, and other demanding applications. Unlike batteries, polymer capacitors provide rapid charge and discharge capabilities essential for stabilizing voltage and delivering sudden power surges, but their performance has been limited by thermal instability. The breakthrough was achieved by creating a polymer alloy from two commercially available high-temperature plastics, PEI and PBPDA, which self-assemble into a stable nanostructure with a high dielectric constant of 13.5—significantly higher than each polymer alone. This nanostructured interface blocks charge leakage at elevated temperatures, enabling both high energy density and thermal tolerance, a combination previously difficult to achieve