Fit for task
With their superior cycle lives and ability to deliver quick bursts of high power, capacitors such as Nanotecture’s asymmetric hybrid capacitor are ideal for temporary storage and discharge of electrical energy in hybrid electric vehicles and electric vehicles.
In hybrid electrical vehicles capacitors and batteries operate in conjunction with an electric motor to provide a power storage system and secondary power source. This system works in concert with a petrol or diesel driven combustion engine to minimise fuel consumption, i.e. the electric motor undertakes start-stop functions, initial acceleration and support of peripheral electrical functions, while the combustion engine kicks in at higher speeds. At cruising speeds, the engine re-charges the batteries that feed the electric motor. Some of the energy dissipated through braking is also recaptured and used to re-charge the battery.
In mild hybrids and microhybrids, the combustion engine is combined with a modified starter motor or start-stop system which allows the engine to be turned off whenever the car is coasting, braking or stopped but which restarts quickly and cleanly. Some of the energy is recaptured by means of regenerative braking and fed back into the battery. Capacitors can play a role here as part of the energy capture and storage system.