A capacitor electric vehicle is a vehicle that uses supercapacitors (also called ultracapacitors) to store electricity.[1]
As of 2010[update][needs update], the best ultracapacitors can only store about 5% of the energy that lithium-ion rechargeable batteries can, limiting them to a couple of miles per charge. This makes them ineffective as a general energy storage medium for passenger vehicles. But ultracapacitors can charge much faster than batteries, so in vehicles such as buses that have to stop frequently at known points where charging facilities can be provided, energy storage based exclusively on ultracapacitors becomes viable.[2]
Capabus
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China is experimenting with a new form of electric bus, known as Capabus, which runs without continuous overhead lines (is an autonomous vehicle) by using power stored in large onboard electric double-layer capacitors (EDLCs), which are quickly recharged whenever the vehicle stops at any bus stop (under so-called electric umbrellas), and fully charged in the terminus.[citation needed]
A few prototypes were being tested in Shanghai in early 2005. In 2006 two commercial bus routes began to use electric double-layer capacitor buses; one of them is route 11 in Shanghai.[3] In 2009 Sinautec Automobile Technologies,[4] based in Arlington, Virginia, and its Chinese partner Shanghai Aowei Technology Development Company[5] are testing, with 17 forty-one seat Ultracap Buses serving the Greater Shanghai area since 2006 without any major technical problems.[6] During the Shanghai Expo in 2010, however, 40 supercapacitor buses were being used on a special Expo bus service and owing to the supercapacitors becoming overheated some of the buses broke down.[7] Buses in the Shanghai pilot are made by Germantown, Tennessee-based Foton America Bus Company[8] Another 60 buses will be delivered early next year with ultracapacitors that supply 10 watt-hours per kilogram.[citation needed]
The buses have very predictable routes and need to stop regularly every 3 miles (4.8 km) or less, allowing quick recharging at charging stations at bus stops. A collector on the top of the bus rises a few feet and touches an overhead charging line at the stop; within a couple of minutes the ultracapacitor banks stored under the bus seats are fully charged. The buses can also capture energy from braking, and the company says that recharging stations can be equipped with solar panels. A third generation of the product, which will give 20 miles (32 km) of range per charge or better is planned.[2]
Sinautec estimates that one of its buses has one-tenth the energy cost of a diesel bus and can achieve lifetime fuel savings of $200,000. The buses use 40% less electricity even when compared to an electric trolley bus, mainly because they are lighter[citation needed]. The ultracapacitors are made of activated carbon and have an energy density of six watt-hours per kilogram (for comparison a high-performance lithium-ion battery can achieve 200 watt-hours per kilogram, but the ultracapacitor bus is about 40% cheaper than a lithium-ion battery bus and far more reliable).[2][6]
There is also a plug-in hybrid version, which also uses ultracaps.[citation needed]
RATP, the public-owned company that manages most of Paris' public transport system, is currently performing tests using a hybrid bus outfitted with ultracapacitors. The model, called Lion's City Hybrid, is supplied by German manufacturer MAN.[9]
GSP Belgrade, Serbia has launched the first bus line operated solo by supercapacitor buses from Chinese manufacturer Higer.[10] First sustainable ultracapacitor (UC) e-bus was represented by Chariot Motors Company in EU and Sofia, Bulgaria in 2014. The 18-month pilot project was successful and had a great public response. The UC bus was tested by the Reputable German laboratory Belicon GmbH and was defined as one of the lowest energy consumption effective vehicles. Based on the pilot's success the capital of Bulgaria – Sofia, (one of the most polluted European cities) chose the UC e-buses as one of the innovative and suitable for the city transport technology. Sofia public transport operator - Stolichen Elektrotransport put 45 Cariot - Higer 12m UC electric buses into operation, 15 in 2020 and 30 in 2021. Electric vehicles are equipped with 40kWh UCs, the buses run on routes 6, 60, 11, 73, 74, 84, 123 and 184, with 11 km average unduplicated length.[citation needed]
In Graz, Austria, lines 50 and 34E are running with short intermediate recharging, using 24–32 kWh EDLC supercapacitors.[11]
Current collectors at bus stops
editPantographs and ground-level power supply current collectors are integrated in bus stops to recharge electric buses quickly, making it possible to use a smaller battery on the bus, which reduces the capital and running costs.[12][13][14][15]
Subway and tram
editIn a subway car or tram, an insulator at a track switch may cut off power from the car for a few feet along the line and use a large capacitor to store energy to drive the subway car through the insulator in the power feed.[16]
The new Nanjing tram uses supercapacitor technology, with charging hardware at each stop instead of continuous catenary. The first line started operating in 2014. The rail vehicles were produced by CSR Zhuzhou; according to the manufacturers, they are the world's first low-floor tram completely powered by supercapacitors.[17] Several similar rail vehicles have been ordered for the Guangzhou Tram line as well.[17]
Other deployments
editIn 2001 and 2002 VAG, the public transport operator in Nuremberg, Germany, tested a hybrid bus which uses a diesel-electric drive system with electric double-layer capacitors.[18]
Since 2003 Mannheim Stadtbahn in Mannheim, Germany, has operated a capa vehicle, an LRV (light-rail vehicle), which uses electric double-layer capacitors to store braking energy.[19][20]
Other companies from the public transport manufacturing sector are developing electric double-layer capacitor technology: The Transportation Systems division of Siemens AG is developing a mobile energy storage based on EDLCs called Sibac Energy Storage[21] and also Sitras SES, a stationary version integrated into the trackside power supply.[22] Adetel Group has developed its own energy saver named ″NeoGreen″ for LRV, LRT and metros.[23] The company Cegelec is also developing an EDLC-based energy storage system.[24]
Proton Power Systems has created the world's first triple hybrid forklift truck, which uses fuel cells and batteries as primary energy storage with EDLCs to supplement them.[25]
University of Southampton spin-out Nanotecture[26] has received a government grant to develop supercapacitors for hybrid vehicles. The company is set to receive £376,000 from the DTI in the UK for a project entitled "next generation supercapacitors for hybrid vehicle applications". The project also involves Johnson Matthey and HILTech Developments. The project will use supercapacitor technology to improve hybrid electric vehicles and increase overall energy efficiency.[citation needed]
Future developments
editSinautec is in discussions with MIT's Schindall about developing ultracapacitors of higher energy density using vertically aligned carbon nanotube structures that give the devices more surface area for holding a charge. So far they are able to get twice the energy density of an existing ultracapacitor, but they are trying to get about five times. This would create an ultracapacitor with one-quarter of the energy density of a lithium-ion battery.[27]
Future developments include the use of inductive charging under the street, to avoid overhead wiring. A pad under each bus stop and at each stop light along the way would be used.
Motor racing
editThe FIA, the governing body for many motor racing events, proposed in the Power-Train Regulation Framework for Formula 1 version 1.3 of 23 May 2007 that a new set of power train regulations be issued that includes a hybrid drive of up to 200 kW input and output power using "superbatteries" made with both batteries and supercapacitors.[28]
UltraBatteries
editUltracapacitors are used in some electric vehicles to store rapidly available energy with their high power density, in order to keep batteries within safe resistive heating limits and extend battery life.[29] The Ultrabattery combines a supercapacitor and a battery in a single unit, creating an electric vehicle battery that lasts longer, costs less and is more powerful than current technologies used in plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs).
See also
edit- Battery electric bus
- Charging station
- Electric bus
- Electric road
- Fuel cell bus
- Gyrobus
- Power Vehicle Innovation
- Trolleybus
- ABB TOSA (bus) (TOSA Flash Mobility, Clean City, Smart Bus)[30]
External links
editReferences
edit- ^ Capacitor vehicle having high speed charging ability and method of operating a capacitor vehicle
- ^ a b c Hamilton, Tyler (19 October 2009). "Next Stop: Ultracapacitor Buses". MIT Technology Review. MIT. Retrieved 22 October 2022.
- ^ 超级电容公交车专题 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 5 January 2007.
- ^ "SINAUTEC, Automobile Technology, LLC". Sinautecus.com. Retrieved 6 October 2013.
- ^ "Aowei Technology". aowei.com. Archived from the original on 25 January 2010. Retrieved 6 November 2009.
- ^ a b Richard, Michael (19 October 2009). "Ultracapacitor Buses Work... As Long as You have Lots of Quick-Charge Stations". TreeHugger. Archived from the original on 19 September 2014. Retrieved 6 October 2013.
- ^ "Super Capacitor Buses in Shanghai". Slideshare.net. 8 September 2010. Retrieved 6 October 2013.
- ^ "Foton America Bus Company". Foton-america.com. Archived from the original on 5 June 2013. Retrieved 6 October 2013.
- ^ Navarro, Xavier (15 April 2009). "Paris tests a new hybrid bus that uses ultracapacitors". Green.autoblog.com. Archived from the original on 1 April 2012. Retrieved 6 October 2013.
- ^ "Newscontent". newscontent.cctv.com. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
- ^ see pdf linked on the page "Vier neue Elektrobusse für Graz" https://www.holding-graz.at/elektrobusse.html last visited 13 March 2019
- ^ "Large-capacity, flash-charging, battery-powered pilot bus takes to the street". Archived from the original on 5 February 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
- ^ "Current collectors for electric busses". Archived from the original on 21 January 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
- ^ "A Giant Charger That Juices Up Electric Buses in Three Minutes". Wired. 2 October 2014. Archived from the original on 2 July 2023.
- ^ Ultrafast Electric Bus Charging Archived 9 August 2017 at the Wayback Machine, Opbrid
- ^ "Capacitors". Archived from the original on 9 March 2015. Retrieved 10 October 2014.
- ^ a b Barrow, Keith (29 May 2014), "CSR unveils 100% supercapacitor-powered tram", International Railway Journal
- ^ "The Ultracapbus: an alternative drive system taking the test of everyday-use". en.vag.de. Archived from the original on 12 October 2008.
- ^ Hope, Richard (1 July 2006). "UltraCaps win out in energy storage". Railway Gazette International. Archived from the original on 4 December 2008.
- ^ Steiner, Michael; Scholten, Johannes; Klohr, Markus. "MITRAC Energy Saver" (PDF). Bombardier. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 March 2012.
- ^ "Sibac ES Product Page". Siemens AG. Archived from the original on 12 May 2008. Retrieved 6 November 2009.
- ^ "Sitras SES". Siemens AG. Archived from the original on 1 November 2009. Retrieved 6 November 2009.
- ^ "Neo Green" (PDF). Adetel Group. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 January 2014. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
- ^ "Electric double-layer capacitor Transportation applications". Blogs.transworldnews.com. 28 May 2008. Archived from the original on 18 February 2012. Retrieved 6 October 2013.
- ^ "Proton Power Systems Unveils the World's First Triple-hybrid Forklift Truck". Fuel Cell Works press release. 25 September 2007. Archived from the original on 8 December 2008.
- ^ "Nanotecture". Nanotecture.co.uk. Archived from the original on 9 February 2010. Retrieved 9 November 2009.
- ^ Hamilton, Tyler (19 October 2009). "Next Stop: Ultracapacitor Buses - Page 2 |". MIT Technology Review. MIT. Archived from the original on 8 July 2011. Retrieved 6 October 2013.
- ^ Goeschel, Burkhard; Mosley, Max (24 May 2007). "Formula One 2011: Power-Train Regulation Framework" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 February 2012.
- ^ Wald, Matthew (13 January 2008). "Closing the Power Gap Between a Hybrid's Supply and Demand". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 10 April 2009.
- ^ "ABB demonstrates technology to power flash charging electric bus in 15 seconds". www.abb.com. 30 May 2013. Archived from the original on 1 June 2014.