Supercapacitor Market for Data Centres to Top $950 Million by 2037

The market for supercapacitors for data centre applications is set to grow to over US$950 million by 2037, representing a 40.9% CAGR from 2026. This high growth rate is mainly due to the recent emergence of this application, driven by growth in hyperscale AI data centres worldwide.

Electric double-layer capacitors (EDLCs) are expected to represent the largest proportion of data centre supercapacitor power supply; however, in terms of market value, Li-ion hybrid capacitors will exceed EDLCs towards the end of the next decade, due to higher prices and larger deployments in terms of capacitance, according to IDTechEx’s recent report “Supercapacitors for Data Centres 2027-2037: Technologies, Applications, Players and Forecasts.”

AI Data Centre Growth – Spiking Power Profiles Requiring Solutions

AI is increasingly deployed across many facets of daily life and a range of industries, driving a major increase in the construction rate of hyperscale data centres. However, training and utilising AI requires a power demand profile that is far from smooth, generating large transient loads and short peaks in power demand. AI-related power-demand spikes can be challenging for conventional power architectures to handle.

Extreme power demand spikes lead to voltage sags, which can in turn cause temporary server shutdowns, equipment failures, and grid-wide instability. Solving these issues can make AI data centres more profitable and more palatable for neighbouring authorities and locations that might otherwise oppose development.

Supercapacitor Technologies – EDLCs, Li-ion Hybrids and Pseudocapacitors

Supercapacitors, also known as ultracapacitors, include a range of technologies. Supercapacitors lie between capacitors and batteries in terms of electrochemical properties, utilising surface charge storage like capacitors but with higher energy density.

Generally, supercapacitors offer significantly higher power density than batteries but significantly lower energy density, making them well suited to short-term, rapid power applications with frequent charge-discharge cycles. IDTechEx identifies three broad categories of supercapacitors: electric double-layer capacitors (EDLCs), hybrid capacitors, and pseudocapacitors.

EDLCs are the most commercially mature of the three technologies, operating via the same charge-storage mechanisms as conventional capacitors but using a double-layer design to increase storage capacity. Hybrid capacitors offer a middle ground between EDLCs and Li-ion batteries, utilising both surface charge storage and bulk storage (e.g. via chemical redox reactions).

The most common type of hybrid capacitor is the Li-ion capacitor, which uses the same rocking-chair principle as a Li-ion battery, along with surface charge storage like an EDLC. IDTechEx‘s recent report offers a detailed breakdown of the commercial viability of EDLCs, hybrid supercapacitors and pseudocapacitors in the context of data centre applications.

Applications Within the Data Centre – Voltage Sags, Peak Shaving and Backup Power

Supercapacitors will be deployed in data centres for three primary applications: voltage stabilisation, peak shaving and backup power. Through rapid charging and discharging, supercapacitors can provide power during large AI power demand surges, reducing strain on the grid and other power equipment. They can then be rapidly charged when the spike subsides, providing power for the next spike.

AI power spikes can be at the ms- or s-scale and therefore require ms- or s-scale flexibility in power supply, which supercapacitors can provide. This smooths out the overall facility/rack’s power demand, preventing voltage sags.

They also rapidly smooth large peaks in power demand that might otherwise incur fees, and capture excess power that might otherwise be lost or wasted through dummy compute calculations. Supercapacitors could also be deployed in backup power applications, especially at the rack level.

While supercapacitors cannot provide backup power for long periods (max. 2 mins for EDLCs and max. 10 mins for some types of hybrid supercapacitors), they could enable critical backup supply for short-term outages, preventing data corruption or loss.

Supercapacitors could complement existing backup power systems, including UPS. This IDTechEx report provides an in-depth assessment of supercapacitors’ suitability for these applications in data centre power architectures, as well as optimisation of supercapacitor placement within the data centre facility.

Players, Case Studies, and Emerging Relationships

Many players operate in the supercapacitor space, and several have already pivoted to target, or are trying to target, data centre applications. The opportunity for supercapacitors in data centres is still emerging, with deployments currently low compared to the total addressable market. While it remains to be seen which players will succeed first, IDTechEx identifies several factors that define viable strategies for supercapacitor players, including module design, system sizing and data centre targeting.

In the new market report, “Supercapacitors for Data Centres 2027-2037: Technologies, Applications, Players and Forecasts”, IDTechEx provides analysis of supercapacitors in data centre applications including:

Market Forecasts and Analysis

•           Granular 10-year forecast of the supercapacitor market (GW, US$M, GF) across data centre types and supercapacitor technologies.
•           Analysis of supercapacitor placement trends within the data centre
•           Evaluation of hyperscale data centre construction pipelines and expected power demand growth

Technology trends

•           Qualitative and quantitative comparison of supercapacitor technologies
•           Evaluating the niche for supercapacitors compared to other energy storage devices, in terms of electrochemical properties.
•           Benchmarking of supercapacitor technologies vs. other energy storage devices for data centre applications

Application market priorities and market dynamics

•           Analysis of opportunities for supercapacitors within data centre power architectures
•           Player benchmarking and product analysis by technology and data centre potential
•           Analysis of case studies from major players in the supercapacitor space
•           Collation of public and potential partnerships between supercapacitor and data centre players, as well as commentary on market trends