Capacitor electric vehicle: Difference between revisions

A '''capacitor electric vehicle''' is a [[vehicle]] that uses [[supercapacitor]]s (also called ultracapacitors) to store electricity.<ref>[https://wwwpatents.google.com/patentspatent/US20120056600 Capacitor vehicle having high speed charging ability and method of operating a capacitor vehicle]</ref>

{{As of|2010}}{{Update inline|date=March 2024}}, 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 [[Battery (electricity)|batteries]], so in vehicles such as [[bus]]es that have to stop frequently at known points where charging facilities can be provided, energy storage based exclusively on [[ultracapacitor]]s becomes viable.<ref name="technologyreview.com">{{cite web |url=httphttps://www.technologyreview.com/news2009/41577310/19/209306/next-stop-ultracapacitor-buses/?a=f |title=Next Stop: Ultracapacitor Buses |publisher=MIT |work=MIT Technology Review |date=19 October 2009 |accessdate=20132022-0410-1322 |last=Hamilton |first=Tyler}}</ref>

A few [[prototype]]s 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]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.52bus.com/article/special/200608/special_6.html |script-title=zh:超级电容公交车专题 |language=Chinese |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070105022719/http://www.52bus.com/article/special/200608/special_6.html |archivedate=5 January 2007}}</ref> In 2009 Sinautec Automobile Technologies,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sinautecus.com |title=SINAUTEC, Automobile Technology, LLC |publisher=Sinautecus.com |accessdate=2013-10-06}}</ref> based in [[Arlington, Virginia]], and its Chinese partner Shanghai Aowei Technology Development Company<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aowei.com/english/index.htm |title=Aowei Technology |publisher=aowei.com |accessdate=6 November 2009 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100125014115/http://www.aowei.com/english/index.htm |archivedate=2010-01-25}}</ref> are testing, with 17 forty-one seat Ultracap Buses serving the Greater Shanghai area since 2006 without any major technical problems.<ref name="treehugger.com">{{cite web |last=Richard |first=Michael |url=http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/10/ultracapacitor-electric-buses-china.php |title=Ultracapacitor Buses Work... As Long as You have Lots of Quick-Charge Stations |publisher=TreeHugger |date=19 October 2009 |access-date=2013-10-06 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140919234114/http://www.treehugger.com/cars/ultracapacitor-buses-work-as-long-as-you-have-lots-of-quick-charge-stations.html |archive-date=2014-09-19 |url-status=live}}</ref> During the Shanghai Expo in 2010, however, 40 super-capacitorsupercapacitor buses were being used on a special Expo bus service and owing to the super-capacitorssupercapacitors becoming overheated some of the buses broke down.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.slideshare.net/ResearchIndia/super-capacitor-buses-in-shanghai-5156990 |title=Super Capacitor Buses in Shanghai |publisher=Slideshare.net |date=8 September 2010 |accessdate=2013-10-06}}</ref> Buses in the Shanghai pilot are made by [[Germantown, Tennessee]]-based Foton America Bus Company<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.foton-america.com/ |title=Foton America Bus Company |publisher=Foton-america.com |accessdate=2013-10-06 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130605190750/http://www.foton-america.com/ |archivedate=2013-06-05 }}</ref> Another 60 buses will be delivered early next year with ultracapacitors that supply 10 [[watt-hour per kilogram|watt-hours per kilogram]].{{Citation needed|date=January 2022}}

In a [[subway car]] or [[tram]], an [[insulator (electricity)|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.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.facstaff.bucknell.edu/mastascu/elessonshtml/lc/capac1.htm# |title=Capacitors |access-date=10 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150309023326/http://www.facstaff.bucknell.edu/mastascu/elessonshtml/LC/Capac1.htm# |archive-date=9 March 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

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 ELDCsEDLCs called Sibac Energy Storage<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Siemens AG |url=http://www.transportation.siemens.com/ts/en/pub/products/green_mobility/our_solutions/on_a_roll/sibac.htm |title=Sibac ES Product Page |access-date=2009-11-06 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080512121527/http://www.transportation.siemens.com/ts/en/pub/products/green_mobility/our_solutions/on_a_roll/sibac.htm |archive-date=12 May 2008 }}</ref> and also Sitras SES, a stationary version integrated into the trackside power supply.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=Siemens AG |url=http://www.transportation.siemens.com/ts/en/pub/products/green_mobility/our_solutions/for_the_net/sitras.htm |title=Sitras SES |accessdate=2009-11-06 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20091101152920/http://transportation.siemens.com/ts/en/pub/products/green_mobility/our_solutions/for_the_net/sitras.htm |archivedate=2009-11-01}}</ref>

[http://www.adetelgroup.com Adetel Group] has developed its own energy saver named ″NeoGreen″ for LRV, LRT and metros.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.adetelgroup.com/library/fiches-produits/4-NEO_GREEN_POWER.pdf |title=Neo Green |publisher=Adetel Group |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140110231440/http://www.adetelgroup.com/library/fiches-produits/4-NEO_GREEN_POWER.pdf# |archive-date=10 January 2014 |url-status=dead |access-date=4 July 2013}}</ref>

The company Cegelec is also developing an ELDCEDLC-based energy storage system.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://blogs.transworldnews.com/suntan/Post.aspx?postID=20211 |title=Electric double-layer capacitor Transportation applications |publisher=Blogs.transworldnews.com |date=28 May 2008 |accessdate=2013-10-06 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120218135059/http://blogs.transworldnews.com/suntan/Post.aspx?postID=20211 |archivedate=2012-02-18}}</ref>

Proton Power Systems has created the world's first triple hybrid [[forklift truck]], which uses [[fuel cell]]s and [[battery (electricity)|batteries]] as primary energy storage with ELDCsEDLCs to supplement them.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fuelcellsworks.com/Supppage7867.html |title=Proton Power Systems Unveils the World's First Triple-hybrid Forklift Truck. |publisher=Fuel Cell Works press release |date=25 September 2007 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081208005801/http://www.fuelcellsworks.com/Supppage7867.html |archivedate=2008-12-08}}</ref>

Ultracapacitors are used in some electric vehicles, such as [[AFS Trinity]]'s concept prototype, to store rapidly available energy with their high [[power density]], in order to keep batteries within safe resistive heating limits and extend battery life.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/13/automobiles/13ULTRA.html |title=Closing the Power Gap Between a Hybrid's Supply and Demand |last=Wald |first=Matthew |newspaper=The New York Times |date=13 January 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090410093752/http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/13/automobiles/13ULTRA.html |archive-date=2009-04-10 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.afstrinity.net/afstrinity-xh150-pressrelease.pdf |title=AFS Trinity unveils 150 mpg Extreme Hybrid (XH) SUV |date=13 January 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120229090138/http://www.afstrinity.net/afstrinity-xh150-pressrelease.pdf |archive-date=29 February 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The [[UltraBattery|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).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www6.lexisnexis.com/publisher/EndUser?Action=UserDisplayFullDocument&orgId=101846&topicId=103840033&docId=l:732161238|title=Error - LexisNexis® Publisher|accessdate=20 September 2014}}</ref>

* [[ChargeCarBattery electric bus]]

* [[In-roadPower electricVehicle vehicle chargerInnovation]]

* [[SupercapacitorTrolleybus]]