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With so many different new technologies, why should we invest heavily in this
specific method? Today this technology is just starting, and it is applicable mainly in two
specifics cases: The start-stop and the regenerative braking systems.
The first one enable an engine to shut down when the car is sitting in a traffic or
when it comes to a stop at a light, for example. The ultracapacitors at this moment
provide a short burst of energy that restarts the motor.
Regenerative braking is more used today, the main idea is that the system should
capture the kinetic energy of a moving car during the braking that generally would be
lost and then release it again during the acceleration or in other systems, such as backup
power for sounds systems in the cars.
Supercapacitors are ideal for these two cases because: Supercapacitors deliver way
more power for weight than lithium-ion batteries; today the efficiency is up to 98%; they
are very tolerant of high temperatures; charge almost instantly; and for power discharges
below 15 secs, they are one of the cheapest technologies available today. Its projected
that at least half of the new cars will be coming with these systems by 2022.
I-Eloop is the name of the technology used by Mazda in some of their cars.
This invention is a brake energy regeneration system which means it stores energy that
usually is wasted through heat by the brakes during a brake period.
I-Eloop process starts at the brake. When braking the alternator convert mechanical
energy into electricity and then it is quickly stored in the Electric Double Layer
Capacitor (Supercapacitor). After that a DC/DC converter the energy from 12 volts to 25
volts in order to transfer the electricity to a battery or use it in others systems.
Mazda claims that I-Eloop can save 10% of gas, a quantity that uses be spent
to produce electricity for lamps, audio system and climate control.
VOLVO
Figure 2: Number of electric car sales per year from 2008 to 2014 (http://www.ibtimes.com/globalelectric-car-market-about-43-all-electric-passenger-cars-were-bought-2014-say-1857670)
Volvo developed car parts that actually are not ordinary replacement pieces.
In fact, they are well designed supercapacitors made to replace body parts of the vehicle
and the battery. The new material is capable of store energy wasted during brake periods.
Some advantages of this kind of parts are they reduce the consumption through reducing
approximately 15% of the cars weight from the roof, trunk, underhood and batterie and
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they are capable of store energy from braking. They are light because they are made by
carbon-fiber and the dielectric is fiberglass.
The disadvantages are the cost of the material, straightly related to the high
cost of carbon fiber. Another issue for this technology is the possibility of the car stop
working or catch fire due to a dent on any of the Carbon-fiber supercapacitor parts.
CAPACITOR BUS
Today, one of the most successful applications with supercapacitors is the known as
CapaBus that is a new form of an electric bus. It is an autonomous vehicle, in others
words, it runs without continuous overhead lines by using power stored in large onboard
supercapacitors. The supercapacitors are quickly recharged always that the bus stops at a
determined bus stop which has the recharger.
Some bus already runs in Shanghai since 2006. The buses should have very
predictable routes and need to stop regularly every 4.8km (3 miles) or less. This way the
quickly recharging is allowed at the bus stops. The buses can also capture energy from
the braking. It is planned that the stations can be equipped with solar panels, and is
predicted that the new ones will have a range of charge around 20 miles.
According to Sinautec( one of the companies working with this technology) during
the whole lifetime theses buses saves $200,000 in fuel. It also uses less 40% electricity
than the others electric buses, and, of course, the CapaBus pollute way less.