超级电容能否平滑AI数据中心供电的功率波动？

AI workloads can create load swings far sharper than steady-state compute, producing hard power spikes that conventional architectures struggle to absorb.AI 工作负载会产生远比稳态计算剧烈的负载波动，形成传统架构难以吸纳的大功率尖峰。

Supercapacitors, also called ultracapacitors, sit between conventional capacitors and batteries. They store energy as a surface charge rather than through a battery’s chemical reaction, which gives them higher power density than batteries but lower energy density. That trade-off suits short, frequent bursts rather than sustained runtime. Operators are testing supercapacitors alongside batteries and uninterruptible power supply (UPS) systems rather than replacing them. Batteries and UPS systems still support the sustained load and provide a longer backup window.超级电容器（也称 ultracapacitor）介于传统电容器与电池之间。它们以表面电荷的形式存储能量，而不是通过电池的化学反应存储，因此功率密度高于电池，但能量密度较低。这种权衡适合短时、频繁的脉冲放电，而不适合持续运行。运营方正将超级电容器与电池和不间断电源（UPS）系统搭配测试，而非取代它们。电池和 UPS 系统仍承担持续负载，并提供更长的备用时间窗口。

A September 2026 report from IDTechEx identifies three roles for supercapacitors in data centers: voltage stabilization, peak shaving, and short-term backup power. Supercapacitors charge and discharge in milliseconds to seconds – fast enough to track AI training cycles and recharge before the next spike.IDTechEx 的一份2026 年 9 月报告指出，超级电容器在数据中心有三大作用：电压稳定、削峰和短期备用电源。超级电容器在数毫秒到数秒内完成充放电——速度足以跟踪 AI 训练周期，并在下一次尖峰到来前重新充满电。

Market Outlook: Small Today, Growing Fast市场展望：当前规模较小，但增长迅速

IDTechEx projects the data center supercapacitor market will reach $950 million by 2037, a 40.9% compound annual growth rate from 2026. That growth rate stands out against the wider category. A separate IDTechEx report from August 2025 puts total global supercapacitor revenue across automotive, grid, and industrial uses at $4.86 billion by 2036, growing 15.3% annually.IDTechEx 预计，数据中心超级电容器市场将在2037 年达到 $950 million，自 2026 年起的复合年增长率为 40.9%。这一增速在更广泛的品类中十分突出。IDTechEx 的另一份报告于 2025 年 8 月发布给出的数据显示，到 2036 年，全球汽车、电网和工业用途的超级电容器总收入将达到 $4.86 billion，年增长率为 15.3%。

Three Designs Vying for the Rack Slot三种设计角逐机架位

IDTechEx groups data center supercapacitors into three categories, based on how they store charge and where they fit:IDTechEx 根据电荷存储方式和适用位置，将数据中心超级电容器分为三类：

EDLCs (electric double-layer capacitors). The most commercially mature of the three, EDLCs store charge electrostatically at the electrode surface, much like a conventional capacitor.EDLC（双电层电容器）。三类中商业成熟度最高的 EDLC 以静电方式在电极表面存储电荷，与传统电容器非常相似。
Hybrid capacitors. These are usually lithium-ion (Li-ion) hybrids, combining an EDLC’s surface charge storage with the “rocking chair” lithium-ion chemistry in which ions shuttle back and forth between electrodes during charge and discharge.混合电容器。这类通常是锂离子（Li-ion）混合电容器，结合了 EDLC 的表面电荷存储与“摇椅式”锂离子化学机制；充放电时，离子在电极之间往返穿梭。
Pseudocapacitors. These store charge through fast, reversible chemical reactions at the electrode surface rather than purely by electrostatic storage, delivering higher energy density than an EDLC but lower power density.赝电容器。这类电容器并非单纯依靠静电存储，而是通过电极表面快速、可逆的化学反应存储电荷，能量密度高于 EDLC，但功率密度较低。

Backup power is the narrowest application across all three. Typical EDLC deployments sustain output for approximately 2 minutes, while some hybrids can last up to 10 minutes – enough to prevent data corruption during brief outages but not enough to replace a UPS system. IDTechEx frames supercapacitors as a complement to backup infrastructure, not a substitute.在这三类中，备用电源是适用范围最窄的应用。典型 EDLC 部署可维持约 2 分钟输出，而某些混合电容器可持续长达 10 分钟——足以在短暂断电期间防止数据损坏，但不足以取代 UPS 系统。IDTechEx 将超级电容器定位为备用基础设施的补充，而非替代品。

From Pilots to Deployment: Pace and Roadblocks从试点到部署：推进速度与障碍

The market for supercapacitors in data centers is still in its early stages, but growing.数据中心超级电容器市场仍处于早期阶段，但正在增长。

“The market is transitioning from early evaluation to meaningful deployment, although adoption rates vary by technology type and supply chain maturity,” said Chris Butler, president of embedded and critical power at Flex, in an interview with Data Center Knowledge. “Instantaneous load transients can reach more than 150% of a power shelf’s rated capacity during certain AI compute events.”“市场正从早期评估转向实质性部署，不过采用率因技术类型和供应链成熟度而异，”Flex 嵌入式与关键电源总裁 Chris Butler 在接受 Data Center Knowledge 采访时表示。“在某些 AI 计算事件中，瞬时负载瞬变可达到电源机框额定容量的 150% 以上。”

Rack designers are building in flexibility rather than committing to one architecture. “Rack designs typically include dedicated slots that can accommodate BBUs (battery backup units), CBUs (capacitor backup units), or mixed configurations, providing deployment flexibility,” Butler said. “Supply chain concerns remain a major hurdle, particularly for newer hybrid supercapacitor technologies with limited qualified suppliers.”机架设计师正在设计中内置灵活性，而非锁定单一架构。“机架设计通常包含专用插槽，可容纳 BBU（电池备用单元）、CBU（电容器备用单元）或混合配置，从而提供部署灵活性，”Butler 说。“供应链担忧仍是主要障碍，尤其是合格供应商有限的新型混合超级电容器技术。”

Parag Nathaney, principal quantitative engineer for energy policy and power markets at Exelon, tied the pace of adoption to the reliability bar data centers operate under. He told Data Center Knowledge that the technology must meet 99.999% reliability for the power supply, which is why he sees the market as in its early stages.Exelon 能源政策与电力市场首席定量工程师 Parag Nathaney 将采用速度与数据中心运行所遵循的可靠性门槛联系起来。他告诉 Data Center Knowledge，该技术必须达到 99.999% 的供电可靠性，这也是他认为市场仍处于早期阶段的原因。

“Supercapacitors are advancing toward greater deployment, but the current state is characterized by pilot and early commercialization,” Nathaney said.“超级电容器正朝着更大规模部署推进，但当前状态仍以试点和早期商业化为特征，”Nathaney 说。

Ian Wright, chief technology officer at DIMAAG, which builds battery systems designed to avoid supercapacitors, argued that the DC-to-DC conversion stage determines the response time, not the device alone. “The response speed to load changes is then determined by the DC/DC, which will be slower than either caps or batteries,” Wright told Data Center Knowledge. “If supercaps have been tried and not observed to get hot, that’s probably because they are not actually absorbing the cyclic loads.”DIMAAG 首席技术官 Ian Wright 所在的公司生产旨在避免使用超级电容器的电池系统。他认为，决定响应时间的是 DC-to-DC 转换级，而不仅仅是器件本身。“随后对负载变化的响应速度由 DC/DC 决定，它会比电容器或电池都慢，”Wright 告诉 Data Center Knowledge。“如果已经试用过超级电容器且没有观察到发热，那很可能是因为它们实际上并没有吸收周期性负载。”

What’s Next and How Operators Decide后续趋势与运营商的决策方式

Whether IDTechEx’s forecast for supercapacitors plays out remains to be seen. Wright expects directly connected batteries, not supercapacitors, to become the primary tool for smoothing AI power swings.IDTechEx 对超级电容器的预测能否实现仍有待观察。Wright 预计，直接连接的电池而非超级电容器将成为平抑 AI 电力波动的主要手段。

Nathaney reached a different conclusion, tied to reliability rather than economics. “I think the application of supercapacitors for data centers is novel, but the long track record of the technology in other applications could lower the barrier for adoption by data centers,” he said.Nathaney 得出了不同的结论，其依据是可靠性而非经济性。“我认为超级电容器在数据中心的应用很新颖，但该技术在其他应用中的长期记录可能会降低数据中心采用它的门槛，”他说。

Butler is somewhat more optimistic. As rack power levels scale from hundreds of kilowatts toward multi-megawatt designs, he expects CBUs to see growing use in managing transient peak demands. Over time, he anticipates workload-driven optimization will determine the mix of batteries and capacitors, with supercapacitors playing an increasingly important role in handling high-cycle, peak-power events.Butler 相对更乐观。随着机架功率从数百千瓦向多兆瓦设计扩展，他预计 CBU 在管理瞬态峰值需求方面的应用会不断增加。他预计，随着时间推移，工作负载驱动的优化将决定电池和电容器的组合，超级电容器在处理高循环、峰值功率事件方面将发挥越来越重要的作用。

“I expect capacitor-based energy storage to become a mainstream element of next-generation AI power architectures,” Butler said.“我预计基于电容器的储能将成为下一代 AI 电源架构的主流组成部分，”Butler 说。

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Sean Michael Kerner is an IT consultant, technology enthusiast and tinkerer. He consults to industry and media organizations on technology issues.Sean Michael Kerner 是 IT 顾问、技术爱好者和动手实践者。他就技术问题为行业和媒体组织提供咨询。

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