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A capacitor electric vehicle is a
vehicle A vehicle (from la, vehiculum) is a machine that transports people or cargo. Vehicles include wagons, bicycles, motor vehicles (motorcycles, cars, trucks, buses, mobility scooters for disabled people), railed vehicles (trains, trams), wa ...
that uses
supercapacitor A supercapacitor (SC), also called an ultracapacitor, is a high-capacity capacitor, with a capacitance value much higher than other capacitors but with lower voltage limits. It bridges the gap between electrolytic capacitors and rechargeable ba ...
s (also called ultracapacitors) to store electricity. , the best ultracapacitors can only store about 5% of the energy that
lithium-ion A lithium-ion or Li-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery which uses the reversible reduction of lithium ions to store energy. It is the predominant battery type used in portable consumer electronics and electric vehicles. It also sees ...
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
bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is most commonly used in public transport, but is also in use for cha ...
es that have to stop frequently at known points where charging facilities can be provided, energy storage based exclusively on
ultracapacitor A supercapacitor (SC), also called an ultracapacitor, is a high-capacity capacitor, with a capacitance value much higher than other capacitors but with lower voltage limits. It bridges the gap between electrolytic capacitors and rechargeable b ...
s becomes viable.


Capabus

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
is experimenting with a new form of electric bus, known as ''Capabus'', which runs without continuous
overhead lines An overhead line or overhead wire is an electrical cable that is used to transmit electrical energy to electric locomotives, trolleybuses or trams. It is known variously as: * Overhead catenary * Overhead contact system (OCS) * Overhead equipmen ...
(is an autonomous vehicle) by using power stored in large onboard
electric double-layer capacitor A supercapacitor (SC), also called an ultracapacitor, is a high-capacity capacitor, with a capacitance value much higher than other capacitors but with lower voltage limits. It bridges the gap between electrolytic capacitors and rechargeable b ...
s (EDLCs), which are quickly recharged whenever the vehicle stops at any
bus stop A bus stop is a place where buses stop for passengers to get on and off the bus. The construction of bus stops tends to reflect the level of usage, where stops at busy locations may have shelters, seating, and possibly electronic passenger ...
(under so-called electric umbrellas), and fully charged in the
terminus Terminus may refer to: * Bus terminus, a bus station serving as an end destination * Terminal train station or terminus, a railway station serving as an end destination Geography *Terminus, the unofficial original name of Atlanta, Georgia, United ...
. A few
prototype A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototyp ...
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 Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
. In 2009 Sinautec Automobile Technologies, based in
Arlington, Virginia Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county is ...
, and its Chinese partner Shanghai Aowei Technology Development Company are testing, with 17 forty-one seat Ultracap Buses serving the Greater Shanghai area since 2006 without any major technical problems. During the Shanghai Expo in 2010, however, 40 super-capacitor buses were being used on a special Expo bus service and owing to the super-capacitors becoming overheated some of the buses broke down. Buses in the Shanghai pilot are made by
Germantown, Tennessee Germantown is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 41,333 at the 2020 census. Germantown is a suburb of Memphis, bordering it to the east-southeast. Germantown was founded in 1841 by mostly German emigrants. The ...
-based Foton America Bus Company Another 60 buses will be delivered early next year with ultracapacitors that supply 10 watt-hours per kilogram. The buses have very predictable routes and need to stop regularly every or less, allowing quick recharging at
charging station A charging station, also known as a charge point or electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE), is a piece of equipment that supplies electrical power for charging plug-in electric vehicles (including electric cars, electric trucks, electric ...
s 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 of range per charge or better is planned. 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 A trolleybus (also known as trolley bus, trolley coach, trackless trolley, trackless tramin the 1910s and 1920sJoyce, J.; King, J. S.; and Newman, A. G. (1986). ''British Trolleybus Systems'', pp. 9, 12. London: Ian Allan Publishing. .or troll ...
, mainly because they are lighter. The ultracapacitors are made of
activated carbon Activated carbon, also called activated charcoal, is a form of carbon commonly used to filter contaminants from water and air, among many other uses. It is processed (activated) to have small, low-volume pores that increase the surface area avail ...
and have an
energy density In physics, energy density is the amount of energy stored in a given system or region of space per unit volume. It is sometimes confused with energy per unit mass which is properly called specific energy or . Often only the ''useful'' or extract ...
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). There is also a
plug-in hybrid A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) is a hybrid electric vehicle whose battery pack can be recharged by plugging a charging cable into an external electric power source, in addition to internally by its on-board internal combustion engin ...
version, which also uses ultracaps. RATP, the public-owned company that manages most of
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
' 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 A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromos ...
. Foton America Bus is in talks with
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
,
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
, and some towns in
Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
about trialing the buses.
GSP Belgrade GSP Belgrade ( sr, / ) is a public transit company in the city of Belgrade. As of 2018, it operates with 170 lines and has 1,611 active vehicles. Name The acronym "GSP" stands for ''Gradsko saobraćajno preduzeće'' ( sr-Cyrl, Градско с ...
,
Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian language, Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe, Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Bas ...
has launched the first bus line operated solo by super-capacitor buses from Chinese manufacturer
Higer Higer Bus Company Limited, also known as Higer Bus, is a Chinese bus manufacturer based in Suzhou, Jiangsu province. It was established at the end of 1998. HIGER is China's leading exporter of buses and Coach (bus), coaches, whose units are av ...
. First sustainable ultracapacitor (UC) e-bus was represented by Chariot Motors Company in EU and
Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...
,
Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
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) choses 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. In
Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popul ...
, Austria, lines 50 and 34E are running with short intermediate recharging, using 24–32 kWh Supercaps/
EDLC A supercapacitor (SC), also called an ultracapacitor, is a high-capacity capacitor, with a capacitance value much higher than other capacitors but with lower voltage limits. It bridges the gap between electrolytic capacitors and rechargeable b ...
.


Current collectors at bus stops

Pantographs and
ground-level power supply Ground-level power supply, also known as surface current collection or, in French, ''alimentation par le sol'' ("feeding via the ground"), is a concept and group of technologies whereby electric vehicles collect electric power at ground level fro ...
current collectors are integrated in
bus stop A bus stop is a place where buses stop for passengers to get on and off the bus. The construction of bus stops tends to reflect the level of usage, where stops at busy locations may have shelters, seating, and possibly electronic passenger ...
s to recharge electric buses quickly, making it possible to use a smaller battery on the bus, which reduces the capital and running costs.


Subway and tram

In a
subway car A passenger railroad car or passenger car (United States), also called a passenger carriage, passenger coach (United Kingdom and International Union of Railways), or passenger bogie (India) is a railroad car that is designed to carry passen ...
or
tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...
, 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. The new
Nanjing tram Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...
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. Several similar rail vehicles have been ordered for the
Guangzhou Tram Guangzhou Tram (; or "YoungTram") is the tram system in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, China. It is operated by Guangzhou Tram Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Guangzhou Metro Corporation. Lines As of September 2021, 2 lines (Haizhu Tr ...
line as well.


Other deployments

In 2001 and 2002 VAG, the
public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typical ...
operator in
Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...
,
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, tested a hybrid bus which uses a diesel-electric drive system with electric double-layer capacitors. Since 2003 Mannheim Stadtbahn in
Mannheim Mannheim (; Palatine German: or ), officially the University City of Mannheim (german: Universitätsstadt Mannheim), is the second-largest city in the German state of Baden-Württemberg after the state capital of Stuttgart, and Germany's 2 ...
, Germany, has operated a capa vehicle, an LRV (light-rail vehicle), which uses electric double-layer capacitors to store braking energy. Other companies from the public transport manufacturing sector are developing electric double-layer capacitor technology: The Transportation Systems division of
Siemens AG Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad. The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', '' ...
is developing a mobile
energy storage Energy storage is the capture of energy produced at one time for use at a later time to reduce imbalances between energy demand and energy production. A device that stores energy is generally called an accumulator or battery. Energy comes in ...
based on ELDCs called Sibac Energy Storage and also Sitras SES, a stationary version integrated into the trackside power supply
Adetel Group
has developed its own energy saver named ″NeoGreen″ for LRV, LRT and metros. The company Cegelec is also developing an ELDC-based energy storage system. Proton Power Systems has created the world's first triple hybrid
forklift truck A forklift (also called lift truck, jitney, hi-lo, fork truck, fork hoist, and forklift truck) is a powered industrial truck used to lift and move materials over short distances. The forklift was developed in the early 20th century by various c ...
, which uses
fuel cell A fuel cell is an electrochemical cell that converts the chemical energy of a fuel (often hydrogen) and an oxidizing agent (often oxygen) into electricity through a pair of redox reactions. Fuel cells are different from most batteries in requ ...
s and batteries as primary energy storage with ELDCs to supplement them.
University of Southampton , mottoeng = The Heights Yield to Endeavour , type = Public research university , established = 1862 – Hartley Institution1902 – Hartley University College1913 – Southampton University Coll ...
spin-out A corporate spin-off, also known as a spin-out, or starburst or hive-off, is a type of corporate action where a company "splits off" a section as a separate business or creates a second incarnation, even if the first is still active. Characte ...
Nanotecture has received a government grant to develop supercapacitors for
hybrid vehicle A hybrid vehicle is one that uses two or more distinct types of power, such as submarines that use diesel when surfaced and batteries when submerged. Other means to store energy include pressurized fluid in hydraulic hybrids. The basic princip ...
s. 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 Johnson Matthey is a British multinational speciality chemicals and sustainable technologies company headquartered in London, England. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. History Early years ...
and HILTech Developments. The project will use supercapacitor technology to improve hybrid electric vehicles and increase overall energy efficiency.


Future developments

Sinautec is in discussions with
MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the m ...
's Schindall about developing ultracapacitors of higher energy density using vertically aligned
carbon nanotube A scanning tunneling microscopy image of a single-walled carbon nanotube Rotating single-walled zigzag carbon nanotube A carbon nanotube (CNT) is a tube made of carbon with diameters typically measured in nanometers. ''Single-wall carbon na ...
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. Future developments include the use of
inductive charging Inductive charging (also known as wireless charging or cordless charging) is a type of wireless power transfer. It uses electromagnetic induction to provide electricity to portable devices. Inductive charging is also used in vehicles, power tool ...
under the street, to avoid overhead wiring. A pad under each
bus stop A bus stop is a place where buses stop for passengers to get on and off the bus. The construction of bus stops tends to reflect the level of usage, where stops at busy locations may have shelters, seating, and possibly electronic passenger ...
and at each stop light along the way would be used.


Motor racing

The
FIA FIA is the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (English: International Automobile Federation), the world's governing body for all forms of motor sport where four or more wheels are used. Fia or FIA may also refer to: People * Fia Backst ...
, the governing body for many
motor racing Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...
events, proposed in the ''Power-Train Regulation Framework for
Formula 1 Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
'' version 1.3 of 23 May 2007 that a new set of
power train A drivetrain (also frequently spelled as drive train or sometimes drive-train) is the group of components that deliver mechanical power from the prime mover to the driven components. In automotive engineering, the drivetrain is the components o ...
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.


UltraBatteries

Ultracapacitors are used in some electric vehicles, such as
AFS Trinity AFS Trinity Power Corporation is an American corporation headquartered in Medina, WA with an engineering center in Livermore, CA that develops technology for plug-in hybrids. The company has developed PHEV technology that actively combines batter ...
's concept prototype, to store rapidly available energy with their high
power density Power density is the amount of power (time rate of energy transfer) per unit volume. In energy transformers including batteries, fuel cells, motors, power supply units etc., power density refers to a volume, where it is often called volume p ...
, in order to keep batteries within safe resistive heating limits and extend battery life. The
Ultrabattery UltraBattery (commonly sold as Lead-Carbon batteries) is a hybrid energy storage device invented by Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). UltraBattery combines ultracapacitor technology with lead-acid ...
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 A plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) is a hybrid electric vehicle whose battery pack can be recharged by plugging a charging cable into an external electric power source, in addition to internally by its on-board internal combustion engin ...
electric vehicles (PHEVs).


See also

* ChargeCar *
Electric bus An electric bus is a bus that is propelled using electric motors as opposed to an internal combustion engine. Electric buses can store the needed electricity on-board, or be fed continuously from an external source. The majority of buses s ...
*
Gyrobus A gyrobus is an electric bus that uses flywheel energy storage, not overhead wires like a trolleybus. The name comes from the Greek language term for flywheel, ''gyros''. While there are no gyrobuses currently in use commercially, development in ...
* In-road electric vehicle charger *
Supercapacitor A supercapacitor (SC), also called an ultracapacitor, is a high-capacity capacitor, with a capacitance value much higher than other capacitors but with lower voltage limits. It bridges the gap between electrolytic capacitors and rechargeable ba ...
*
WATT System ''Power Vehicle Innovation'' or ''PVI'' is a French truck and bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a road vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van. It is ...
*
ABB ABB Ltd. is a Swedish- Swiss multinational corporation headquartered in Zürich, Switzerland. The company was formed in 1988 when Sweden's Allmänna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget (ASEA) and Switzerland's Brown, Boveri & Cie merged to crea ...
TOSA Flash Mobility, Clean City, Smart Bus The TOSA concept and test bus is a full large capacity urban battery electric bus system built by Carrosserie Hess and developed together with ABB Sécheron, a subsidiary of ABB. Aim of the concept and project The aim is to provide a zero local ...


External links


An Electric Bus That Recharges While You Step Inside


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Capa Vehicle Electric buses Capacitors Electric vehicles Energy storage Vehicles introduced in 2001