MEAN GREEN MACHINE: An ultracapacitor-equipped Toyota Supra HV-R coupe was the only hybrid to win the 24-hour endurance race held at Japan's Tokachi International Speedway.
Image: Courtesy of Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.
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Many motorists chuckle smugly after giving their cars a little extra gas to leave a Toyota Prius or some other eco-friendly automobile in the dust. But Toyota and its Earth-loving ilk may yet have the last laugh as they cultivate encouraging new advances in ultracapacitor technology that promise to one day put hybrids in the driver's seat.
The greatest victory so far for the cars, fueled by a combo of electricity and gas, came just weeks ago when an ultracapacitor-equipped Toyota Supra HV-R coupe became the first hybrid to win the 24-hour endurance car race held at Japan's Tokachi International Speedway. The hybrid Supra finished 616 laps of the 5.1-kilometer (roughly threemile) course—19 more laps than the second-place nonhybrid Nissan Fairlady Z. "The Toyota that won was able to deliver energy more quickly, accelerate faster, and use braking generation more efficiently," says Kevin Mak, an analyst with research and consulting firm Strategy Analytics and author of a recent study that explores the potential for ultracapacitors to complement and possibly even replace batteries in hybrid vehicles. "The days of the large hybrid vehicle battery pack may be numbered," he adds.
The reason, he says: capacitor technology that stores energy in the electric field between a pair of closely spaced conductors. An ultracapacitor, also called a supercapacitor, is an electrochemical capacitor with a higher energy density than normal capacitors, which potentially makes them a better fit for hybrid vehicles.
Ultracapacitors store electricity by physically separating positive and negative charges. Batteries store energy using toxic chemicals and their effectiveness fades over time. In addition, recycling the heavy metals in batteries is a difficult task. Capacitors, on the other hand, are constructed of much smaller fine carbon nanotubes, Mak says.
A major advantage of ultracapacitors is their ability to efficiently capture electricity from regenerative braking systems and provide that electricity to power a car's acceleration. Ultracapacitors not only charge more quickly than batteries, they also release energy more quickly, Mak says.
A drawback to their use is the technology's inability to store as much energy as a battery. But the Tokachi race proved that ultracapacitors could be more widely used in conjunction with smaller batteries to power hybrid cars. "Without the need for chemicals, capacitors can be lighter, thereby enabling the hybrid car maker to improve fuel economy further and reduce costs," Mak says. "The low weight would then make hybrid power trains more readily available to compact car segments as [has been] seen on Honda and Mazda concept cars since 1997."
Most car companies, however, are more interested in advances in lithium ion batteries than in ultracapacitor evolution. Earlier this month General Motors Corp. signed an agreement with A123Systems to develop its nanophosphate lithium ion battery technology for automobiles. A123Systems' batteries today are used primarily in cordless power tools. Hybrids such as the Toyota Prius and Ford Escape use nickel-metal hydride batteries that are larger than lithium ion systems, the latter of which can pack more electric power into a smaller space. The first A123 car batteries are expected to be ready for GM to test by October, and the company plans to have its next generation of electrically powered vehicles on the market by the end of 2010.
Capacitors haven't been competitive with batteries in the past, because they have not offered a higher energy density, says Olgierd Palusinski, a University of Arizona professor of electrical and computer engineering. Palusinski argues that energy density is an even better measure than storage capacity of how effective a power source can be. "You could have a very high storage of charge but at a very low voltage," he notes.
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14 Comments
Add CommentThere have been many attempts to design an electric powered vehicle for as long as the the internal combustion engine has been around. Unfortunately, battery power was never a formidable contender to the present internal combustion engine, but it looks as though the future looks more pronising.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe Electric Vehicle: is It the Answer?
I believe that hybrid cars are the present best alternative. My wife has a hybrid and it really does what it says it does. There is no other current alternative to a conventional car. I have heard a lot of negatives. Small battery capacity etc.. The bottom line is that it works and it is here now.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThere is an ultracpacitor electrode which stores 20 times more than the presently sold caps. It is called Reticle Carbon. It uses a patented process to consolidate activated carbon. It retains 90% of the surface area and actually improves the conductivity. It has not received the publicity that nano carbons have. This is probably because most people have the misconception that this is just a re-hash of what Maxwell and NessCap are doing. 20 times more storage is very significant in automotive applications.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisConcept wise neither electric car nor regenerative braking are new. But what TOYOTA has done in Prius is packaging a small IC engine and Ni-Mh battery & a small traction motor in an acceptable way for the customer. A small engine gives better mileage and this coupled with regenerative braking gives additional mileage making the vehicle most fuel efficient. Ever since the first electric car the need for high energy density battery was felt to make it viable alternative to IC engine powered vehicles. Ni-Mh battery development has made Prius successful. Li-ion batteries will take the hybrid vehicles to a higher level. Perhaps ultracapacitor in combination with moderately powered engine may give the same mileage as a hybrid. The bigger question with electric vehicles is how to dispose off the used batteries without affecting environment.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThere is a recently announced electrode technology that can produce over 300 J/g. It is easy to produce and costs a fraction of what nano materials are costing now. It is called Reticle Carbon. An article appears on Ultracapacitors.org.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHow do any of these technologies handle high torque requirements or extra long distance requirements? There are still millions of people who can't switch to hybrid or any other electric alternative because they need heavy towing or hauling, or long distance travel abilities that just aren't handled by current or even future planned technologies. Until those issues are dealt with, fossil fuel requirements will still be with us. I truly hate my dependency on gas but as a farmer I can't make the switch. Not yet anyway.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThey say at first it's a combo of cap and battery then say it's not. They need to make up their minds.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisEven storing 10x's previous ultracaps is no where near good enough and way too costly.
A Lithium battery like A123 will beat the pants of this scam as all the other ultracaps have on the part. Nor do they mention the expensive electronics needed to extract the power of an ultracap as it's voltage goes down to zero.
And EV's have the range unless 300 miles is not enough for you with 15 minute recharge.
As for power A123's in the drag bike Killacycle hits 7.9sec and 168mph in the 1/4 mile. Let's see ultracaps beat that which should be their easiest thing to do. But they can't because they weigh way too much for the pitiful capacity they hold. Ultracaps like fool cells are for losers. Lithium batteries are so much better, cheaper.
The IC part of the hybrid deserves more attention. The Honda non-hybrid diesels sold in Europe deliver spectacular economy but haven't been offered in the US. The VW diesels previously sold in the US were withdrawn because they didn't satisfy US pollution regs, but new ones have come back.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisA diesel-based hybrid with Lion batteries should be a great car.
You say you can't make the switch period. That is an absolute. You have to admit that current and planned technology does cover some of you needs and that you should be open to making teh switch for applications that can be viably serviced by non fossil or part fossil based energy. Part fossil is better that no fossil. the steam engine did not replace draught animals overnight and the gas engine did not replace teh steam engine overnight. There were overlaps and a priority driven by regulatory and market forces that determined the order of replacement. There is no room a precedent for absolutes, is there.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWon't diesels always noisily stink, be tough to start and weigh lots? For another approach to replacing the IC in a hybrid, take a look at Cyclone Technologies' little closed-cycle steam engine. Solves both the torque and pollution problems at a fraction of IC weight and complexity- in a most elegant design, running on diesel, cow methane, or whatever you've got.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt is able to deliver more energy quickly, accelerate fast and use breaking generation fastly because of the capacitor technology that stores energy in the electric field. The drawback of this is it's unable to store as much energy as battery. The capacitors are lighter in weight so it will help in making hybrid trains more readily available.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt is able to deliver more energy quickly, accelerate fast and use breaking generation fastly because of the capacitor technology that stores energy in the electric field. The drawback of this is it's unable to store as much energy as battery. The capacitors are lighter in weight so it will help in making hybrid trains more readily available.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisUltra caps are well-suited for energy recuperation systems that can increase fuel efficiency and reduce emissions. “The contract provides for the development of a new BOOSTCAP ultracapacitor cell specifically designed to meet the energy storage and power delivery requirements of one of Mercedes’ torque assist and recuperative braking systems.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thishttp://www.greenautozone.net/category/hybrid-vehicles
Well, the promise of this technology must have faded. It is 2011 and nothing has come of it.
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