EV usage on the rise, but more needs to be done

12th June 2017

Joe Bush

0 0

A report from the International Energy Agency report has revealed that the electric car market surged past two million last year. However, Taavi Madiberk, CEO of Skeleton Technologies, a specialist in ultracapacitor-based energy storage, claimed that despite this growth, there is still some way to go until we see mass adoption and that a hybrid energy approach is the solution to lowering the cost to consumers.

He said: “Electric vehicles still represent just 0.2% of total light duty vehicles. If the automotive market is going to achieve wider adoption and continue to grow, manufacturers must introduce a hybrid energy approach, combining ultracapacitor battery technology with li-ion to reduce costs and increase efficiency.

“Crucially, ultracapacitors can be re-charged in a matter of two to three seconds, providing one million deep charge/discharge cycles. Furthermore, by taking peak power from braking energy recuperation from an ultracapacitor and long term stable energy output from Li-ion batteries the battery life time is increased by 50%, range by ten percent and due to higher efficiency, the battery pack can be downsized.

“Critically, this leads to lower initial cost and dramatically lower total cost of ownership, improving performance and importantly lowering the cost for consumers. Only be utilising this technology will we see the true benefits it can offer and drive wide consumer adoption, now and into the future.”