Ultracapacitor

INVITED PAPER

Batteries and Ultracapacitors for Electric, Hybrid, and Fuel Cell Vehicles
Simulations indicate that fuel-efficient hybrid-electric vehicles can be designed using either batteries or ultracapacitors and that the decision between the two technologies is dependent on their cost and useful life.
By Andrew F. Burke

ABSTRACT | The application of batteries and ultracapacitors in electric energy storage units for battery powered (EV) and charge sustaining and plug-in hybrid-electric (HEV and PHEV) vehicles have been studied in detail. The use of IC engines and hydrogen fuel cells as the primary energy converters for the hybrid vehicles was considered. The study focused on the use of lithium-ion batteries and carbon/carbon ultracapacitors as the energy storage technologies most likely to be used in future vehicles. The key findings of the study are as follows. 1) The energy density and power density characteristics of both battery and ultracapacitor technologies are sufficient for the design of attractive EVs, HEVs, and PHEVs. 2) Charge sustaining, engine powered hybrid-electric vehicles (HEVs) can be designed using either batteries or ultracapacitors with fuel economy improvements of 50% and greater. 3) Plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) can be designed with effective all-electric ranges of 30–60 km using lithium–ion batteries that are relatively small. The effective fuel economy of the PHEVs can be very high (greater than 100 mpg) for long daily driving ranges (80–150 km) resulting in a large fraction (greater than 75%) of the energy to power the vehicle being grid electricity. 4) Mild hybrid-electric vehicles (MHEVs) can be designed using ultracapacitors having an energy storage capacity of 75–150 Wh. The fuel economy improvement with the ultracapacitors is 10%–15% higher than with the same weight of batteries due to the higher efficiency of the ultracapacitors and more efficient engine operation. 5) Hybridelectric vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel cells can...