Supercapacitors’ ability to quickly charge and discharge energy could make them an asset for utilities, data centers, and commercial or industrial customers. But their need for systems-level engineering and costly customization has stymied their use at higher voltages and power. Sandia National Laboratories, with partners Capacitech Energy and Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC), recently published a laboratory report from a demonstration which used supercapacitor-based energy storage technology to support black start, voltage regulation, and load-leveling in a microgrid environment. The demonstration examined how well a scalable, standardized supercapacitor energy storage module could support these features, enabling the technologies’ use for high-voltage, high-power applications and lowering the barriers to their adoption by utility, data centers, and commercial or industrial customers.
During the demonstration, the system successfully performed a microgrid black start, maintaining operations for five minutes until onsite generation resumed. Additionally, the system prevented microgrid downtime due to power disturbances from inrush currents when energizing a transformer. It also smoothed the output of onsite generation during fluctuations.
The results suggest that supercapacitor energy storage systems can enhance power resilience and quality in microgrids, reducing downtime and protecting connected equipment. The demonstration lends confidence for their use to manage the grid’s growing complexity and demand volatility.
This material is based upon work supported by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Electricity (OE), Energy Storage Division.
Photo: Supercapacitor modules installed at a test site at OUC’s Grid Integration Lab for microgrid testing. Testing at the site investigated modules’ ability to support black start, voltage regulation, and load-leveling in a microgrid environment.
Citation: J. R. Sleppy, A. J. Silverstein, R. Koripella, and W. T. Clark, Supercapacitor-Based Power Resilience Solutions for Modern Grids, Microgrids, and Facilities, SANDIA REPORT SAND2026-20849, May 2026.