Supercapacitors have a big internal surface-area that allows a large amount of energy to be delivered rapidly and are used in some electric cars to provide a short burst of power for rapid acceleration and in hybrids to recover energy during braking.

ECONOMIST: Carbon-composite batteries

It uses nanoscale materials to boost the performance of its batteries (making an electrode out of nanoparticles increases its surface area, which in turn decreases the battery's internal resistance and improves its ability to store and deliver energy).

ECONOMIST: The electrification of motoring