Energy storage: Ultracapacitor for heavy-duty use
Maxwell Technologies has introduced a rugged 390 V Boostcap ultracapacitor module to provide scalable, easy-to-integrate, energy storage and power delivery solutions for heavy hybrid and electric vehicles and heavy duty industrial applications requiring up to 1,170 V. The new Heavy Duty Transportation (HTM) module delivers industry-leading performance and reliability and long operational life for vehicles and industrial systems that use electrical energy to enhance efficiency and environmental compatibility. The unit features enhanced integration technology and up to 2.8 times greater energy storage than earlier products.
‘Ultracapacitor-based solutions increase the efficiency of systems that consume electrical energy, which saves fuel or grid power, thereby reducing emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants associated with conventional internal combustion vehicles and energy generation,’ said Dr. Richard Balanson, Maxwell’s president and chief executive officer. ‘This rugged, high-performance, module is designed specifically to meet the demanding requirements of regenerative braking systems in hybrid and electric buses, trucks, electric rail and other heavy vehicles, as well as cranes and other heavy-duty industrial applications.’
The new module meets or exceeds transportation industry requirements for watt-hours of energy storage and watts of power delivery per kilogram, and is designed to perform reliably through one million or more deep discharge cycles, or about 15 years of operational life for most vehicles or industrial systems. Integrated voltage management circuitry and monitoring capabilities and highly efficient, fan-driven, forced air cooling results in good thermal performance at high continuous currents.
Ultracapacitors deliver up to 10 times the power and longevity of batteries, require no maintenance and operate reliably in extreme temperatures. In transportation applications, they efficiently recapture energy from braking for reuse in hybrid and all-electric drive trains, reducing energy consumption and emissions. In mission critical industrial applications, where backup power is critical for continued operation or a soft shutdown in the event of power interruptions, they provide reliable, cost-effective, maintenance-free energy storage. In wind turbine blade pitch and braking systems and other industrial applications, they provide a simple, solid state, highly reliable, solution to buffer short-term mismatches between the power available and the power required.
For more information, visit www.maxwell.com .
— C.G. Masi , senior editor , Control Engineering Machine Control eNewsletter (Read the latest; subscribe for free using the link at the top of the page.)
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