The Estonian ultracapacitor maker, Skeleton Technologies, was for the sixth year in a row chosen for the Global Cleantech 100 list by Cleantech Group.
The 2020 Global Cleantech 100 is the 11th edition of the annual guide to the leading companies and themes in sustainable innovation. “It features the private, independent and for-profit companies best positioned to contribute to a more digitised, decarbonized and resource-efficient industrial future,” Skeleton said in a statement.
The company’s inclusion in 2020 Global Cleantech 100 list “rewards our actions aimed at helping companies save energy and reduce CO2 emissions as well as the industrial excellence of our products,” the company noted. “As a mission driven company, we are committed to solving global challenges by harnessing the power of clean and environmentally sustainable technologies.”
Only 28 companies on the list are based in Europe
The CEO of Skeleton Technologies, Taavi Madiberk said in a statement that out of these 100 companies, “I notice only 28 are based in Europe (20 in the EU). Indeed, this highlights Skeleton’s position as one of Europe’s leaders in technologies fighting climate change, but I would like to see more European companies reaching this list in the future.”
The list combines Cleantech’s research data with qualitative judgements from nominations and insight from a global 80-member expert panel of leading investors and executives from corporations and industrials active in technology and innovation scouting, such as E.ON, Engie, Mitsubishi Corporation, Michelin Group, LG Corp, BP Ventures and Veolia, Skeleton added.
Skeleton Technologies is an Estonian manufacturer of ultracapacitors and energy storage systems. The company was founded by the Estonian entrepreneurs, Taavi Madiberk and Oliver Ahlberg, as a startup in 2009 and now has manufacturing facilities in Estonia and Germany. The company claims its ultracapacitors deliver twice the energy density and four times the power density offered by other manufacturers. Its clients range from automotive firms and industrial equipment manufacturers to truck fleet operators and aerospace contractors.
Provides ultracapacitors to Czech-produced streetcars
In August 2019, the company announced it was to supply ultracapacitor systems to Škoda Electric, a Czech streetcar manufacturer, for 114 trams that will be used in the towns of Mannheim, Heidelberg and Ludwigshafen in Germany. The ultracapacitor system recuperates the braking energy of the trams and uses it for re-acceleration, thus saving energy and decreasing costs.
Ultracapacitors are a technology used for fast energy storage. Capable of rapid charging in a matter of seconds and able to provide over a million charge/discharge cycles, they offer benefits in industries where reliable, instant power is a necessity. This contrasts with traditional batteries that are used for slow energy storage due to much longer charging times and lower life cycles.
Cover: Skeleton’s ultracapacitors.
