Alternative Energy Sources

Ultracapacitors
Why do we need an ultracapacitor for
Evs?

• Average power and peak power

• Main energy source and auxiliary energy

source.
 What is an Ultracapacitor?
• High-capacity capacitor with a capacitance
value much higher than other capacitors, but
with lower voltage limits.
• Stores 10 to 100 times more energy per unit
mass or volume than electrolytic capacitors.
• Can accept and deliver charge much faster
than batteries.
• Tolerates many more charge and discharge
cycles than rechargeable batteries.
 Features of Ultracapacitors
• Exceptionally low specific energy, hence
cannot be used as the sole energy source for
EVs.
• Can be used as an auxiliary energy source,
resulting in a hybrid energy system for EV.
• Specific energy and specific power
requirements of the EV energy source can be
decoupled.
 Features of Ultracapacitors
• Load levelling effect.

• Much faster and more efficient energy

recovery during regenerative braking of EVs.

• Considerable extension of vehicle range.

Coordination between battery
and ultracapacitor
 Evaluation of Ultracapacitors
• Goals set by the US Department of energy for
inclusion of ultracapacitors in EVs:
• Near-term specific energy: 5 Wh/kg
• Near-term specific power: 500 W/kg

• Long term goals: 15 Wh/kg and 1600 W/kg

respectively.
 Evaluation of Ultracapacitors
• Power Cache PC7223 (Maxwell Technologies):
Capacitance 2700 F at 2.3 V.
• Specific energy: 2.48 Wh/kg
• Specific power: 732 W/kg

• Panasonic: upto 1800 F at 2.3 V

• Energy savings of up to 40% and 20% on urban

and suburban driving conditions respectively.
 Conclusion
• Merit of using ultracapacitor for load levelling
has been confirmed for EV applications.

• The ultracapacitors performance (specially the

specific energy) should be significantly
improved and its cost needs to be greatly
reduced before widely applying to EVs.
Alternative Energy Sources

Ultrahigh-speed
flywheels
• Use of flywheel/principle of flywheel.

• First passenger bus solely powered by a

massive flywheel made by Oerlikon
Engineering Company in Switzerland during
the 1940s.
• The flywheel weighed 1500 kg and operated
at 3000 rpm.
• Recharged by electricity at each bus stop.
The Flywheel Energy Storage
System (FESS)
Principle of Operation
The Ultrahigh-Speed Flywheel
Features of Ultrahigh-speed Flywheels
• High specific energy
• High specific power
• Long cycle life
• High energy efficiency
• Quick recharge
• Maintenance free
• Cost effective.
Features of Ultrahigh-speed Flywheels
• Can provide load levelling for the main energy
source, as well as (potentially) act as the sole
energy source in an EV.
• Cycle life of the flywheel is practically
unlimited.
• Potential benefits of using the Flywheel as an
auxiliary energy source in a hybrid
configuration with the battery for EVs similar
to those using the ultracapacitor.
 Use of Flywheel as a stationery
energy storage system to provide
rapid recharging of Electric Vehicles
Hybridization of Different Energy
Storage Devices
• Batteries: Maturity and low cost, high specific
energy.
• Fuel Cells: Outstanding specific energy and
high fuel efficiency.
• Ultracapacitors: Enormous specific power and
instantaneous charge/discharge capability.
• Ultrahigh-speed Flywheels: Outstanding
specific power and practically unlimited cycle
life.
• None of the available energy sources for EVs
can fulfill all demands of EVs to enable them
to compete with petrol-powered vehicles.
• Basically, they are incapable of providing high
specific energy and high specific power
simultaneously.
• EVs can adopt the concept of using multiple
energy sources, so-called the hybridization of
energy sources.
• Only the hybridization of two energy sources
(one for specific energy and one for specific
power) is considered to be viable.
 Advantages of hybridization
• EV requirements on energy and power can be
decoupled. EV sources such as batteries and
fuel cells can be designed for high specific
energy, whereas sources such as
ultracapacitors and ultrahigh-speed flywheels
can be optimized for high specific power.
• Cycle life and production cost of these sources
can be lengthened and minimized
respectively.
Impact of EVs on Power System
• Batteries can be charged during off-peak
periods or at night so that power demand can
be levelled.

• However, EV battery chargers are non-linear

devices which generate harmonic
contamination in the power system.

• Battery recharging at normal or peak periods

creates additional current demand burdens on
the power system.
Harmonic Impact
• Input charging current is highly distorted,
introducing significant harmonic content in
the source current.

• Different harmonic currents create different

voltage drops across their respective
impedances, hence the corresponding voltage
waveform is also distorted.
 Adverse effects of harmonic
contamination
• Conventional measuring devices are calibrated at
a fixed frequency and generally have poor
frequency response. Due to harmonic currents
and voltages, their accuracy is deteriorated.
• Large capacitor banks installed in the power
system to improve the overall power factor may
be damaged by excessive harmonic currents.
• Harmonic currents and voltages may cause false
tripping of protection devices.
 Adverse effects of harmonic
contamination
• As the triplen harmonic current flows through the
neutral of a three-phase four-wire power system,
the neutral conductor may be overloaded,
causing excessive heat problems. Also, common
mode noise (neutral to ground voltage) may
occur at the neutral point.
• The triplen harmonic currents can circulate within
the delta loop of delta connected power
transformers, causing excessive heat problems.
 Harmonic Compensation

• Device Level

• System Level