Power system for high temperature applications with rechargeable energy storage

A power system adapted for supplying power in a high temperature environment, the power system comprising:

• a rechargeable energy storage that is operable in a temperature range of between about minus forty degrees Celsius and about two hundred and ten degrees Celsius coupled to a circuit for at least one of supplying power from the energy storage and charging the energy storage;
• wherein the energy storage is configured to store between about one one hundredth (0.01) of a joule and about one hundred megajoules of energy, and to provide peak power of between about one tenth (0.10) of a watt and about one hundred megawatts, for at least two charge-discharge cycles;
• and
• wherein the rechargeable energy storage comprises an ultracapacitor comprising electrochemical double-layer capacitor comprising:
• two electrodes wetted with an electrolyte, each electrode being attached to or in contact with or coated onto a current collector and separated from each other by a separator porous to the electrolyte,
• wherein the electrodes, electrolyte and current collector contain less than 1,000 parts per million (ppm) of impurities, and
• wherein the ultracapacitor exhibits a leakage current less than 1 amp per liter of volume over a range of operating temperatures and at a voltage up to a rated voltage.