Ultracapacitors: Best Option for EV Energy Storage Technology - Electric vehicles (EVs) are having their time in the spotlight with several models from makers such as General Motors, Tesla and Nissan on the market today and more to come in the future.

The growing demand for EVs is spurring the automotive industry’s search for sophisticated components to extend the longevity of these vehicles while simultaneously improving their performance capabilities. Research and advancements in efficient components over the last several years has led to a hybrid energy storage system consisting of an ultracapacitor and battery pairing. This pairing increases energy and improves the power density of the hybrid supply, which allows the battery to operate without large current spikes that would normally occur when using just a battery. When the battery can operate without current spikes, it has a longer, more effective life. The hybrid system reduces the cycling of the battery under heavy load conditions, in turn extending the life of the hybrid supply and providing a more efficient energy supply.

Ultracapacitors store energy electrostatically, whereas batteries produce energy via a chemical reaction. For automotive manufacturers, this difference means an economical, versatile power delivery technology more beneficial than batteries. Coupled with batteries in a hybrid system, ultracapacitors improve the range and performance of trucks, passenger and delivery vehicles.

http://www.eetimes.com/design/smart-energy-design/4235856/Ultracapacitors--Best-Option-for-EV-Energy-Storage-Technology

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Plug-in batteries could offer 10 times more range, 10 times faster charging in near future - A team of researchers from Northwestern University, have discovered a way to make battery charging far more quicker and efficient. The lithium-ion battery electrode allows 10 times the capacity of today’s batteries and charges 10 times faster. It is expected to be available in the market in 3-5 years. The research titled “In-Plane Vacancy-Enabled High-Power Si-Graphene Composite Electrode for Lithium-Ion Batteries”, was published in the “Advanced Energy Materials” journal.

The researchers achieved this extra-ordinary result by layering silicon between graphene sheets and then creating small holes, up to 10-20 nm wide in the sheets, using chemical oxidation, terming it “in-plane defects” process. This offers the lithium ion a ‘shortcut’ into the anode and can result in faster charging. The research also found that the battery remained highly effective, by nearly 5 times than today’s lithium ion batteries, even after 150 charges, which would mean a usage time of 1-1.5 years

http://green.autoblog.com/2011/11/18/plug-in-batteries-could-offer-10-times-more-range-10-times-fast/

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New electrode can make batteries last a hundred times longer - An electrode for rechargeable battery, developed by Stanford researchers, can last 100 times longer than the regular lithium-ion battery. The crystalline copper hexacyanoferrate electrode can survive 40,000 cycles of charging and discharging as opposed to the 400 cycles of the lithium-ion batteries. The durability of the electrode is due to the open framework structure of the crystals which allows ions to pass through the electrode easily, thereby allowing fast charging and discharging. Researchers believe that the new electrode could be pivotal in developing a durable and efficient rechargeable battery that can be used as large-scale energy storage for renewable energy.

http://www.ecoseed.org/technology/innovations/article/27-innovations/11916-new-electrode-can-make-batteries-last-a-hundred-times-longer

in Electric, Hybrid and Plug in Hybrid Electric Cars