Ultracapacitors: the future of electric cars or the 'cold fusion' of autovation?

[jpak]

http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0416/p13s01-sten.html

Ian Clifford wants to start a global revolution by building a practical, everyday car with no gasoline engine, no batteries, and no emissions.

While big Detroit automakers ponder a future plug-in car that goes 40 miles on a battery charge before its gas engine kicks in, Mr. Clifford's tiny ZENN Motor, a Toronto maker of low-speed electric cars, announced in March that it will build a new highway-speed (80 m.p.h.) model that goes 250 miles on a charge – and can recharge in just five minutes.

Having no batteries, the new "cityZENN" model will use a breakthrough version of a common electrical storage device called an ultracapacitor to store power from a wall socket, the company says. Fuel costs to operate it would be about one-tenth of today's gas-powered vehicle.

If that astounding claim is real (and there are many skeptics), it could revolutionize automotive travel by making all-electric cars competitive with gas-powered vehicles and easing the world's dependence on oil.

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[screembloodymurder]

1. Unfortunately, the firm has not delivered as promised.

It remains to be seen.

[kristopher]

2. NREL Researches Ultracapacitors in Advanced Vehicles

NREL Researches Ultracapacitors in Advanced Vehicles

Batteries are most commonly used to store energy and deliver power in hybrid electric and hybrid fuel cell vehicles. But ultracapacitors may become a viable energy storage option because of their projected low cost, high power density, and long life. The recent introduction of the Honda fuel cell vehicle with ultracapacitors (FCX-V4) has heightened interest in this technology.

DOE's Vehicle Technologies Program has supported NREL in its efforts to investigate the potential use of ultracapacitors in hybrid and fuel cell vehicles. NREL researchers develop and validate ultracapacitor models in combination with batteries using MATLAB's SimPower Systems tool and in stand-alone applications using ADvanced VehIcle SimulatOR (ADVISOR).

Combining ultracapacitors with batteries may enhance performance and improve fuel economy. Ultracapacitors may also extend the life of a hybrid vehicle's on-board battery system because they are better suited to capturing high power from regenerative braking and releasing it for initial acceleration (Hybrid Energy Storage Studies Using Batteries and Ultracapacitors for Advanced Vehicles and Potential Ultracapacitor Roles for Hybrid Electric Vehicles ). Ultracapacitors may be especially useful in regenerative energy capture when a vehicle's peak power is much greater than its average power demand. However, limited energy storage capability limits the ultracapacitor's ability to downsize fuel cell systems (Energy Storage System Requirements for Hybrid Fuel Cell Vehicles ). Download Acrobat Reader.

We are also developing...

http://www.nrel.gov/vehiclesandfuels/energystorage/feature_ultra.html