Ultracapacitors: Power for Greener, More Efficient Cars

Automotive OEMs are developing cars with smaller engines that provide adequate power in bigger platforms and boost performance with electrical energy by using Kinetic Energy Recovery Systems (KERS), some utilizing ultracapacitors to capture and store regenerative braking energy.

The Latest Media Coverage on Maxwell’s Ultracapacitors

Recently we had the good fortune of being included in two news stories I’d like to share with you.

The first was by Heather Clancy from ZDNet’s GreenTech Pastures about ultracapacitors and their different uses in energy storage. I spoke with Heather last month while on a trip to New York. Here’s part of what she had to say:

New Emissions Standards Will Help Ultracapacitor Adoption

Ultracapacitors can be recharged through regenerative braking and provide the power needed for acceleration and starting the vehicle—making the battery last longer. By decreasing the size of the battery, and at the same time increasing its life, ultracapacitors reduce system cost for all types of hybrid vehicles.

People Will Pay for Green…As Long as it Doesn’t Cost More

The company that can make an innovative solution to both go green and lower consumer costs will be the big winner because going green and saving money is a one-two combo that is irresistible to the market.

Maxwell Helps Plan the Future of Energy Storage

Ultracapacitors are here to stay. Though unrecognized for their commercial viability for most of their technological lifetime, they are now being embraced by the commercial applications that they are so well-suited for. And there’s much more to come.

Ultracapacitors and Batteries: Mortal Enemies or Best of Friends?

This is what is happening with ultracapacitors and batteries today. Batteries are being designed in where only ultracapacitors are needed. In contrast, ultracapacitors are being used where batteries just won’t do. Fortunately, there are some very progressive thinkers out there who recognize that energy delivery systems usually have more than one job to do and using the combination of the two is the best choice for the job.

Reader Question: Why Hasn’t Detroit Embraced Ultracapacitors?

Ultracapacitors have proven their value, safety, efficiency and durability in more than 1,000 public transit buses now in daily revenue service in the U.S., Europe and Asia, so we aren’t suggesting that U.S. automakers take a “leap of faith.” Rather, we are suggesting that Detroit could reinvent itself and create U.S. jobs by taking advantage of cost-effective, readily available, American technology to produce the energy-efficient, environmentally-friendly cars consumers want.

Secretary of Energy Endorses Ultracapacitors at Auto Show

At the Washington D.C. Auto Show last week, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu spoke about the Obama administration’s commitment to advancing fuel-efficient vehicles.

Is There a Silver Bullet to Reducing Foreign Oil?

Again, I keep thinking that the reason for all this activity is that we want to get away from foreign oil and reduce our emissions at the same time. If you listen to John Petersen of Seeking Alpha, he says how we can get there. You put a mild-hybrid engine in cars using electric motors and conventional lead acid batteries.