This study aims to investigate the effect of electrode composition on heat generation in electric double layer capacitor (EDLC) electrodes under galvanostatic cycling. EDLCs consist of two identical electrodes usually made of a mixture of (i) carbon-based material, (ii) binder, and (iii) other conductive additives. These constituents were found to influence the capacitance and internal resistance of the device and the heat generation rate in the positive and negative electrodes. Indeed, the heat generation rate was measured using an isothermal calorimeter in both electrodes of five EDLC devices with different electrode compositions but the same electrolyte consisting of 1 M LiPF 6 in EC:DMC. The reversible heat generation rates at the positive and negative electrodes were nearly identical in absence of CMC. However, in devices containing CMC, the reversible heat generation rate in the positive electrode was significantly larger than that in the negative electrode. Such asymmetric heating was attributed to asymmetry in the charging mechanism due to the overscreening effect caused by interactions between the anionic functional groups of CMC and the cations at the negative electrode. Electric double layer capacitors (EDLCs) have received significant attention in recent years for electrical energy storage applications in particular those requiring rapid charging/discharging, such as regenerative braking in electric vehicles, 1 smart grids, 2 and renewable energy harvesting systems.3-5 Indeed, EDLCs can provide higher power density, higher cycle efficiency, and longer lifetime than batteries. 4,6 EDLC devices consist typically of two carbon-based electrodes partitioned by a separator immersed in aqueous or organic electrolytes. EDLCs store electrical energy in the electrical double layer of ions forming at electrode/electrolyte interface.Heat generation in EDLC is a major concern since these devices are usually cycled under high current density resulting in excessive temperature rise.7 This, in turn, can lead to (i) accelerated cell aging, [8][9][10] (ii) increased self-discharge rates, 9,11 and possibly (iii) electrolyte decomposition and evaporation. 9,12 Heat generation in EDLCs can be classified into irreversible and reversible heat generation rates. 7,[13][14][15][16][17] Irreversible heat generation has been attributed, both theoretically and experimentally, to Joule heating. 7,9,11,[13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] It is constant throughout the EDLC cell and equal to the product of the EDLC internal resistance and the square of the imposed current. 7,[14][15][16] On the other hand, reversible heat generation rate in the entire device was theoretically and experimentally found to be exothermic during charging and endothermic during discharging.7,14-16 The time-averaged reversible heat generation over a charging step was shown to be proportional to the imposed current under galvanostatic cycling.7,14-16 Experimentally, reversible heat generation has been assumed to be identical in both the positive and negative e...