The ship's capacitor serves to power modules such as weapons, afterburners, microwarpdrives and other modules which require more power than the ship's reactor can provide sustainably. Capacitor power is measure in Gigajoules (GJ) and varies from ship to ship. The capacitor has two attributes:

Capacity

This is the measure of the amount of raw power which the capacitor can store. Capacity increases in direct proportion to the size of the ship. It is also modified by the Energy Management skill. In addition there are several skills which reduce the capacitor needs for a wide variety of modules. Modules such as Capacitor Batteries and Power Diagnostic Systems increase the capacity of a ship's Capacitor. The Semiconductor Memory Cell rigs also increase the capacitor's maximum capacity. Capacitor Booster modules can be used to inject a variable amount of capacitor power depending upon the size of the charge used.

Recharge Time

Smaller ships tend to regenerate capacitor power more quickly than larger vessels. Also the Energy Systems Operation skill reduces recharge time by up to 25%. Modules which reduce recharge time include Capacitor Flux Coils, Capacitor Rechargers, Capacitor Power Relays, and Power Diagnostic Systems. The Capacitor Control Circuit rig reduces recharge time as well.

Note. Recharging is not linear. In fact, when the capacitor has only about 28% left it generates at peak perfomance. after that it drops off quickly:

Impact on Gameplay

Capacitor power is life in combat. Without it a ship cannot enter warp (NOTE: you only need ridiculously little cap to iniate warp, however with a next-to-empty capacitor you will probably not end up at the intended destination) or activate propulsion modules such as an Afterburner or Microwarpdrive. Ships armed with Blasters, Lasers or Railguns cannot fire those weapons as they require capacitor power to activate.

Modules which affect Capacitor Power:

• Energy Transfer Array - used to add capacitor power to another ship's reserves
• Energy Neutralizer - uses some of your ship's capacitor power to remove a larger amount from a target ship's capacitor
• Energy Vampire - siphons capacitor power from a target's battery until the % remaining for both ships is equal
• Capacitor Booster - uses charges (Cap Boosters) to inject a fixed amount of power into the ship's capacitor.

Several ships specialize in capacitor power warfare. The Ashimmu, Bhaalgorn, Cruor, Curse, Pilgrim, Sentinel, and Dragoon all receive bonuses for Energy Vampire and Energy Neutralizer modules.

Jump-capable ship pilots also need to be mindful of capacitor power, since the jump drive which is used to instantly relocate a ship several light-years away requires a significant amount of capacitor power to activate.